The Things You Don't Know
by White-Knight-1988
Summary: What happens to Tommy after the Dino Thunder Rangers destroy Mesogog? Find out inside for the story like it's never been told before. Comedy, action, romance, it's all inside just waiting for you to read.
1. Beginning

_Guess who's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's your friendly neighborhood writer, back with something a little different this time. Hope you enjoy._

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You know me. You know who I am, what my favorite colors are, who my friends are, what I do for a living and what my real job is all about. You know who I've dated, where I went to school, what I do for fun and every other minute and miniscule detail of my life down to what I've done with my hair recently. At least you think you do.

Turns out there's another chapter to my never ending life of craziness.

Sometimes, when I tell this story, I don't even know where to begin with it. So many things have happened to me, more so than any other person who has ever stepped foot on this planet. No one has had to go through the things I've gone through day after day, week after weak, month after month and year after year.

I don't want to make it sound like my life's horrible, because it's not. I'd say I'm a pretty good looking guy, I've got great friends, a job I really like doing and a house that I worked hard for. Not to mention I have a beautiful wife who I love more than anything in the world. I guess you could say we were high school sweethearts to some extent.

So you can see that I have a pretty good life, it's just the road that it took to get here was a lot bumpier than I would have liked it to be. But hey, I don't need to tell you that because you already know my story and it's one that the average person would never believe if they hadn't seen it first-hand just like you did.

Even though you didn't walk in my shoes or fight the same monsters I fought, you know what I've been through and you're one of the lucky ones for getting to be a part of something as special as that. One day, when you're older and married and have kids, you'll pull out some old VHS tape from a dusty box in the attic and you'll tell your kids to sit down and watch it with you.

You'll explain who I am and who my friends are, what we did and the trials and triumphs we faced together while you show off your collection of action figures and use them to stage mock battles with your kids. Your wife will shake her head, embarrassed that your playing with toys while you continue to play, oblivious to how "immature" or "dumb" an outsider would perceive it to be.

But it's okay and there's really no reason to be embarrassed because, sometimes, we never really out grow our childhood at all. If we did, I certainly wouldn't be in the position to tell you my story, now would I? I wake up every morning and thank my lucky stars that I didn't outgrow my childhood because life would be a hell of a lot more boring if I had.

You all know that I moved to Angel Grove when I was a teenager, became the Evil Green Ranger thanks to Rita, became good thanks to Jason, joined the Power Rangers, dated Kimberly Hart, lost my powers, came back, lost them again, came back as the White Ranger, lost my powers again, became a ninja, lost those powers (seeing a pattern?), came back as Zeo Ranger Five, Red, had Kimberly break up with me in a letter, started dating Katherine Hillard, became evil thanks to King Mondo, became good thanks to Jason and Kat and then became the Red Turbo Ranger before leaving the team and giving my role as leader to TJ Johnson.

You also should know that I came back for a special Red Ranger mission to the moon to stop the last of the Machine Empire from digging up Lord Zedd's personal Zord, Serpentera. I'm sure you also know that I became interested in paleontology and discovered the Dino Gems along with Anton Mercer who later became Mesogog, then I created the Dino Thunder Rangers and then became the Black Ranger, donning my fourth, and hopefully last, color as a Power Ranger.

Like I said, it's been a bumpy road to say the least, but you'll never hear me complain because it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. At this very moment, my wife is stuck in traffic on her way to work which is where I should be too but I made a decision and called in sick this morning. Everyone has to play hooky every once in a while, right? A guy's gotta stay sane somehow.

So, I called my boss who, coincidentally, used to be one of Mesogog's generals, put on my best sick voice and told her that I had come down with a small case of the stomach flu and that I would hopefully be back to school on Monday. She told me to enjoy my three-day weekend with a hint of sarcasm in her voice and wished me good luck in feeling better by Monday.

I'm not sick, in fact I haven't been sick in years. I guess getting sick was never in the cards for a Power Ranger, unless you happened to be Kimberly and missed one of the weirdest missions ever to a planet called Edinoi to help a guy named Dex but that's neither here nor there. I stayed home today because there is a story that you haven't yet heard and I think it's about time that you finally heard it.

This story, this epic journey of my life takes place shortly after Conner, Ethan, Trent, Kira and myself destroyed Mesogog and lost our powers in the process. The kids were preparing to leave for their respective colleges and I needed a vacation so I did what any responsible teenager-turned-Power Ranger- turned-teacher-turned-Power Ranger would do. I took a year off, left my home in Reefside for the guest bedroom in the house of an old friend and discovered who I am. I still can't believe it took almost 30 years but it was definitely worth it.

This story doesn't involve crazy villains, monsters, legendary powers or Zords so if that's what you're looking for, let me apologize in advance because you won't see much, if any, of that stuff. This is about how I walked away from everything I was familiar with and took a gamble which, in the end, paid off more than I could have ever hoped for.

But, like the rest of my life, it definitely wasn't easy, that's for sure. So sit back, strap on your seatbelts, grab your favorite beverage, relax and enjoy the ride. Here's hoping this story is better than any thing you already know about me. Hopefully I tell this story right this time around because sometimes, as you know, I tend to forget things here and there.

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It all started on an extremely unpleasant and scorching hot day in the middle of summer, right after we had defeated Mesogog and gotten Anton Mercer back. As is turns out the guy was a little guilty about everything he had done and he had practically begged me to let him pay me back for saving him.

Of course, I told him that I was just doing my job and that there really was no need for any type of "pay back." Even though high school science teachers don't make a lot of money, I was not going to accept any sort of reward for what the team had done. At least that's what I thought but that's for another part of this story.

So, like I said it was a damn hot day and I was sitting in the air-conditioned haven that was known as Haley's Cyberspace Café. You know the place, it's owned by Haley who's a friend of mine from college and who helped me with the Dino Thunder Rangers.

The sound of teenagers drinking coffee concoctions with names I can't pronounce, surfing the web, chatting with each other and playing video games echoed throughout the café while I sat at a table by myself, checking emails. Normally, a nearly 30 year-old high school science teacher wouldn't be hanging around a place like this but normal isn't exactly the best adjective to describe a guy like me. Besides, it reminds me of the Youth Center and the noise of teenagers takes me back and helps to keep me relaxed. Normal? Yeah, right.

I had just logged in to my email account and was in the process of taking a drink from my strawberry smoothie when I saw that I had an email from an old friend marked "URGENT: READ NOW." I immediately set the drink down and opened the message only to see that it wasn't as important as the subject had alluded to. It was from Jason and it read something like this.

_Hahahahaha. I can just see the look on your face now. "URGENT:READ NOW" Hahaha you must have been panicking when you saw that. Just kidding bro, you know I love you. Insert awkward silence here… Aaaaanyways, what have you been up to man? I heard about what happened down there in Reefside with that Mesogog guy. Man that's some pretty crazy stuff. I don't know why I'm even sending you this email because you'll probably say no but I'm kinda going through my mid-life crisis. Yeah, I know, I'm only 27 but I'm way older than that in Ranger years so I guess it balances out in the end. Back to what I was saying before, I'm getting antsy stuck in this house man. I know you saw that I retired from professional fighting and now I have a ton of money and nothing to do with it. Wanna come down up to the old stomping grounds and spend Jason's money with him? Please, Tommy. I'm begging you. HELP ME OUT!!! HAHA. Anyways, shoot me an email or give me a call if you want to hang out with your best bud for a little bit. It's been awhile and we need to get together anyway especially now that you don't have any superhero duties to perform._

_Love,_

_Jason_

I couldn't help but laugh out loud in the middle of the café when I finished the email. I knew Jason had made a killing with fights all over the U.S. and in places like Japan, Great Britain, Germany and Russia. His tornado kick was one of legend and no man ever lasted more than a few minutes in a fight with Jason.

Watching some of his fights on pay-per-view made me realize two things. The first was that I was the only person who could ever give Jason a good fight. The second was that I wasted forty bucks a month to see Jason fight for three minutes, have his arm raised and walk out with a girl on each arm.

Maybe it was jealousy that Jason was leading this famous life and I had spent years as a Ranger, saving the world and had nothing to really show for it but after reading his email, I realized I was going to capitalize on this as much as he would let me.

I asked Haley to keep an eye on my laptop, pulled out my cell phone and walked outside. Laughter was the only thing I could manage when "Big Poppa" by Notorious B.I.G. began to play and I waited for Jason to answer. I was humming the tune loudly, catching odd glares from pedestrians when I heard the line click.

"Tommy, bro. What's up?" Jason answered "I take it you got my email?"

"Haha, yeah. I guess you could say that. So you want Uncle Tommy to help you spend all your money, huh?" I joked with him "I think that can be arranged. What do you have in mind?"

"To be honest man, nothing. I just need someone to hang out with 'cause I'm going crazy here by myself," he replied "I've got no plans, millions and millions of dollars and not a damn thing to do for the rest of my life until someone calls and asks me to do a reality show for washed up celebrities which means I have about two years of free time. I just want to live the dream before it lives me man."

"Two years, huh? That's a long time do nothing. I've got summer off from school though and I think I could spare a month or so for my little Jason. How about I come up this weekend because I still have a few things to take care of here."

"Three days is a long time to wait, bro. But I'll manage. Be here on Saturday around two 'cause you know I won't be up before noon."

"Haha, alright, bro. I'll talk to you later. Peace."

"Later, bro."

That three minute phone call to Jason which I thought was just an invitation to hang would turn out to be the stepping stone to the craziest two year period of my life. On that day I got sucked into a life that would change who I was forever. No longer would I be the responsible man who wore a lab coat and glasses or mentored young teenagers or fought huge monsters on a daily basis.

In fact, I was just a few short days away from reliving my childhood the way it was supposed to be lived. Sure, it was ten years later than the average person but with my best friend at my side and no crazy bad guys to stand in our way we were going to "live the dream" as Jason referred to it.

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My alarm clock went off at nine that Saturday morning and I was like a kid on Christmas. I had packed my bags the night before, so all I had to do was shower, get dressed, hop in my Jeep and make the drive to Angel Grove.

The hot water felt good and helped wake me up a little bit. It was ten-thirty by the time I made my way out the door. I didn't want to leave until eleven or so but the severe lack of edible food in my fridge threw a wrench in my plans so I left a half-hour early with the nearest fast-food restaurant in my sights.

I munched on sausage and egg muffins and hash brown patties, driving down the freeway towards the complete 180 that my life was about to become. I should have known when I almost hit a cow that had somehow escaped it's pasture and was now walking across the freeway that this trip was going to be different, to say the least but I continued on until I reached Angel Grove, the place where it all began.

Jason had never been one to be extravagant and his house was proof of that. It was a nice home in a gated community but with the money he had, it could have been a lot bigger and a lot more secluded with out a dent being put in his bank account.

I had just climbed out of my Jeep and was going for my two black duffel bags when I heard Jason's front door open and then slam shut. He was walking towards me with what appeared to be backpacks, one red and one white of course.

"Hurry up with your bags and get in here, bro. We don't have all day," he called to me as I made my way up the driveway towards the house. Just as I got a few feet from the door, he ducked back in the house and locked the door behind him, leaving me stranded outside with two big duffel bags.

"Haha, very funny, Jase," I muttered "Guess I'll just go back to Reefside and let you spend your summer alone since I'm clearly not welcome here."

I made fake stomping noises with my feet and smiled when the door flung back open. Jason grabbed my bags out of my hands and threw them into the house without saying a word. He stepped out of the house again, grabbed the two backpacks off the floor and playfully threw his arm around my shoulder, leading me towards the garage.

"It's good to see you, man. I missed you," he said as he entered a code on the side-panel of the garage. I watched in awe as I saw the cars that Jason had. I got to drive some nice cars when I was racing but his collection was incredible. He had everything from a customized Bel-Air to a brand new Corvette but we weren't going to be dealing with those today.

"Same here, man," I replied still in shock "So what don't we have all day for, bro? What are we doing?"

He opened the trunk of his black Denali and threw the backpacks into them next to two snowboards, again red and white and then turned around with a smile on his face.

"Let's go," he answered, completely ignoring my question.

"Go where?" I asked, refusing to let Jason take me somewhere with snowboards in the middle of summer. Not to mention the fact that there wasn't a mountain around for at least two-hundred miles. "Where are we going man?"

"Skydiving," he replied "I didn't get to do it with you guys before and when I saw you guys on TV for that fundraiser thingy I realized I wanted to do it and I still haven't. So come on, man, let's go already."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head a little before opening the door of the SUV and allowing Jason to lead me to something I hadn't done in over ten years.

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_Okay so this story is extremely experimental for me. I'm writing it solely from Tommy's perspective and I really hope you guys like the first chapter. There will be more but I have no idea what my posting schedule is going to look like but you know that I'll try my hardest to post semi-regularly. Review and let me know what you think!_


	2. Airplanes, Burgers, Beer and Beauties

The loud rumble of the engine reverberated through the cargo area of the plane as I strapped my parachute to my back. Jason was sitting on a bench and looking like he was ready to vomit.

"You okay, man?" I asked him.

"Dude, I'm kinda nervous," Jason muttered quietly as I finished strapping the parachute to my back and then locked my feet into the snowboard he had provided.

I laughed a little when I saw from the look on his face that he was being dead serious. His eyes were glazed over and his cheeks were flushed, so I did what I always do, lead the way.

The pilot came over the intercom three minutes later telling us we were approaching the drop zone in ninety seconds and to get ready. I strapped on my helmet and pulled my goggles over my eyes before slowly opening the door, revealing nothing but clear blue sky that only made Jason more nervous. I tossed him his parachute and told him to strap it on because we were getting close.

"It'll be fine, bro. You wanted to do this, remember?" I asked "This is it buddy, it's now or never. I better see you right behind me or I'm taking the Denali when I land and leaving you to find a way home."

Jason only nodded his head as a smile crept across my face. I turned my body around so my back was facing out, gave him a quick wave and flipped backwards, falling through the sky and yelling loudly in excitement. I was nothing but a white blur, flying effortlessly through the sky when I saw Jason come tumbling out of the plane in a heap with his fingers plugging his nose.

I was flipping non-stop, thoroughly enjoying the descent and trying to avoid Jason's girlish and high pitched screams. He was flipping as well but they weren't controlled motions and he was flailing all over.

I wanted to yell to him that that wasn't going to do anything but the words would have never reached him so I yanked the rip cord on my parachute and felt my speed instantly decrease. Jason saw what I was doing and pulled his own cord, allowing the chute to slow him down, leaving nothing but an easy float to the ground below.

When he landed a few seconds after me, his snowboard was skidding across the grass and I could tell he was losing his balance. It was only a matter of time before he toppled over and the camera on his helmet was going to tell the story for years to come. I laughed out loud as he fell over and rolled on his side until he settled and the red parachute fell completely over him.

Of course, the "safety crew" had to ruin my fun and get the parachute off of him but the images of Jason toppling over and being enveloped by a big red piece of cloth would be engrained in my mind forever. By the time he got to his feet and detached from the backpack, he was shaking so I went over to see how he was doing.

"How you feelin' bro?" I asked, trying to conceal my smile.

"Terrible. Don't ever let me do that again," he answered with a look of fear on his face.

"Don't worry man," I replied and then poked the camera on his helmet "With this little baby right here I won't ever have to leave my house again to laugh at you."

"Haha, very funny, dick. Let's just go. I need a beer or two or twelve," he muttered as we hopped in the golf cart that was going to take us to the hangar so we could reclaim our belongings.

Eventually we made it back to the hangar and got our stuff, which was really just sunglasses, wallets and keys before heading for Jason's SUV. We drove for what seemed like forever, catching up the whole way, until we arrived at a little pool hall/bar & grill so far outside of Angel Grove that I didn't even know what town we were in.

However, one thing I learned in all my years as a Power Ranger was that questions always seemed to answer themselves and asking them rarely did anything to help so I played along. The pool hall/restaurant was packed but Jason, being who he was, had "dated" the forty-year old owner a few times and had apparently made a strong enough impression on her because we got a table almost right away.

"See, that's why you never turn down a cougar. They always seem to have something good to offer," Jason lectured with a laugh.

Our waitress came over and got our drink orders, the biggest Heineken they could find for Jason and a Sierra Nevada for myself, before smiling at us and disappearing towards the bar to get our drinks. She came back a few minutes later and I couldn't help but laugh at Jason's incessant flirting that resulted in a phone number scrawled out on a cocktail napkin only minutes after we had been seated.

"I see you finally learned how to play the game 'cause you definitely didn't have that same kind of pull when we were kids, my friend," I muttered with a half-hearted chuckle.

"And I see you still haven't dated a single person since you left the Turbo Rangers like ten years ago," he shot back, a reply which stung, even though it wasn't entirely truthful.

I had dated a lot of girls, more than most men, they just never blossomed into serious relationships. Mostly due to the fact that I held every woman I dated to what my friends had dubbed "Kim Standards" meaning I compared every woman to Kim.

It was also due in large part to the fact that I was living a second life and had been for years and it was a life that I could never let allow an outsider in on. There had been one exception and Haley had been that exception, mostly because she had been there for me through everything I went through during college and in creating the Dino Thunder Rangers. She was really one of the only people I could truly trust with anything.

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_Flashback_

Me and Haley were like two peas in a pod, destined to be friends and we knew it on that fateful night in my apartment when Haley had tossed an almost full bottle of Jack Daniels to me and I was far too inebriated to handle the toss. We had already gone through one bottle and we watched in slow motion as the bottle fell to the floor, We both cringed at the expectation that it would shatter and we would lose the only alcohol we had left.

When the bottle finally landed, it didn't shatter. In fact it stood vertically, ready to be grabbed and consumed which I did without a second thought. Now, I know what you're probably thinking. How did Tommy Oliver end up in an empty apartment building with a beautiful woman like Haley and a bottle of hard alcohol.

The answer is simple and the truth of the matter is that I was lonely. Kim had broken up with me only a few months earlier and I still hadn't gotten over it. Haley had also just gotten out of a fairly serious relationship, well as serious as a high school relationship could be, and we instantly bonded on the first day of school when I showed up fifteen minutes late to my science class and had to take the only available seat in the classroom.

It was at the front of the room in between the someone who resembled the Sloth from _The Goonies_ and one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen. Being late had turned out to be a blessing and a curse at the same time. Sloth had tried to get me to be his or her study partner that day but Haley had magically swooped in and rescued me from my inability to be mean to someone, explaining that we had already agreed to be study partners.

When class ended I followed Haley outside and made sure to personally thank her for saving my ass from a semester with the Loch Ness Monster. She was trying her hardest not to laugh at my mean joke but she couldn't. No one had ever been able to resist Tommy Oliver no matter how hard they tried.

So that leads us back to the Jack Daniels incident. We actually did become study partners and it was a planned "study night" that led to the incident. Ironically, the study date would have been my anniversary with Kim so I was feeling a little down in the dumps about it which Haley quickly picked up on when she came over to study.

She convinced me to drink for the first time in my life that night and after more than a bottle and a half of alcohol, mostly Haley's doing, and all of her encouragement, I was pouring my heart out to her in a drunken stupor, detailing my whole relationship history with Kim and how it had ended so tragically for me. She sat up all night with me and listened as I unleashed it all on her. Not once did she seem mad or annoyed with me, she just re-assured me that everything was going to be okay and that it was probably for the best. After that night, Haley became my confidant, one of my best friends and the only outsider I knew I could trust with the burden that was my past.

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"I've dated plenty of girls, bro," I replied "I just don't go throwing myself at every female that wants an autograph."

"Oh, so now you're jealous because people want my autograph, huh?" he asked with a big grin on his face.

The waitress came over and took our orders a few minutes later and we both decided that the 1.5 pound "Deadman's Burger" was going to be our next challenge for the evening. We played catch-up a little and I explained as much of the Dino Thunder stuff to him without drawing attention to the fact we were talking openly and knowledgably about the Power Rangers.

By the time our overly massive hamburgers had arrived, Jason and I had each gone through five really good sized beers and we were slowly beginning to nurse number six. And I'm not talking about 12 oz. glasses of watered down St. Louis beer here either.

These were easily thirty-five or forty ounce glasses and I had never been much of a drinker to begin with so the five over-the-top-huge beers had me feeling pretty buzzed. So buzzed in fact, that I thought it would be downright hilarious to take the bun off the top of my burger and throw the open faced sandwich that was dripping with juice at a large biker sitting at the bar who just so happened to have had a bulls-eye tattooed on the back of his bald head. I would later justify my actions by saying that any man with a bald head and a bulls-eye is simply asking to have things thrown at him.

Jason tried to catch my arm but it was too late and the burger was flying at the man's head. It was like how all the high school food fights began, in slow motion and someone yelling "NO!" The burger connected with the back of the man's head and I laughed as it slowly slipped down and fell to the floor, leaving a trail of mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle dribbling down the back of his head.

He, however, didn't seem to find it nearly as amusing as Jason and I did so when he turned around and headed towards me, the fire burning in his eyes, I did the sensible thing and ran as fast as I could away from him. The only problem was that I ran into the pool hall which happened to be about as far away from an exit as you could be.

The biker had me cornered and I saw my life was flashing before my eyes as he made a move towards me and I instinctively dove out of the way as his head crashed against the wall and he slumped to the ground. Unfortunately, the man had friends and apparently a lot of them because within seconds of him going down I was surrounded by more bikers with Jason running towards me, valiantly yelling "Hold on! I'm coming buddy!"

Jason came cutting through the crowd, shoving some of the would-be assailants out of the way and grabbing two pool cues off the racks, one of which he tossed to me. As soon as I caught the stick the bikers took it as their cue to attack and Jason and myself were deflecting blows with the sticks and counter-attacking with some very well placed punches and kicks.

It probably took us a good ten or fifteen minutes but in the end we had managed to take down close to fifteen huge bikers, wreck two big screen TV's, break three pool tables, shatter every bottle of alcohol they had in the bar and snap at least 20 pool cues over the heads of our attackers. I took a second to myself observe our handiwork before I allowed my eyes to meet Jason's and we both erupted into fits of laughter.

We were so caught up in what had just happened that we didn't even notice the owner, Jason's "cougar" friend, walk in to the room and clear her throat loudly.

"Ahem. You boys have made quite a mess. You know you'll have to pay for-" she began before realizing she was talking to Jason "Oh, it's you Jason. I'm sorry sweetie, you know you don't have to worry about silly things like this. I'll take care of it. You and your friend just go have a good night, okay?"

Jason walked over to her and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to blush. He whispered something in her ear and then turned around, walking towards me and wrapping an invisible rope around his finger signifying that he, indeed, had the woman wrapped around his finger.

I chuckled a little bit as he threw his arm around my shoulder and led me outside, walking through the dirt parking lot towards where the Denali was. Suddenly, he stopped and spun me around to look at him with a serious look covering his face.

"Tommy. I swear to God man. If you ever do anything like that again, I'll…I'll…I'll probably laugh just as hard as I did tonight," he muttered, playfully pushing me into a white Dodge Ram.

I pushed myself off the truck and back into a standing position before turning around and pointing my finger at Jason, drunkenly.

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear me before I ripped my shirt off and then dove at him, taking him to the ground.

We jockeyed back and forth for another ten minutes or so on the dirt floor until I had pinned Jason down and he admitted defeat. Satisfied with my victory, I extended him a hand and he graciously took it as I helped him to his feet.

By this time a small group of middle-aged women had made their way outside to see us, specifically me because I was shirtless, wrestling in the parking lot. When my head turned towards Jason I found him smiling and looking right at me. He slapped me lightly on the chest and then backed away a little.

"Come on man. Let's give 'em a show," he whispered as he pulled off his shirt, tossed it aside and then entered a fighting stance.

I smiled at the idea, the alcohol giving me courage, so I stepped back a few feet and let my arms land at my side. I tried to conceal my smile as I slowly bowed to Jason, an action which received plenty of "oohs" and aahs" from the ladies, and then entered my own fighting stance.

We sparred for quite awhile, exchanging jabs, hooks, sidekicks, roundhouses and leg sweeps until we couldn't stand anymore. Our little exhibition ended abruptly when Jason backed me in between two trucks and then tried to execute a tornado kick which ended up connecting with the passenger side mirror on one of the vehicles, sending it flying through the window of another.

"Hey, jackass!" one of the women yelled "That mirror came from my truck."

"And that window came from mine!" another shouted "Come on girls, let's get 'em!"

Jason and I looked back at each other in a mixture of shock and panic so we did the mature and responsible thing and made a break for his SUV, making sure to grab our shirts on the way. As we ran to his car we passed the same Dodge Ram from earlier. It had tinted windows that were so dark that I couldn't even see the driver in the truck staring back at us and the mess we had caused, smiling brightly. We climbed in to his car and drove off as fast as we could but it wasn't fast enough because just as we were pulling away I heard Jason's back window shatter as a rock connected with it.

I looked at him and he looked at me, both with concerned expressions and then we turned our eyes back on the road. Out of my peripherals I could see that he was looking at me again so I looked back and we both exploded into huge fits of laughter.

"Dude, you were all 'hi-ya!' with your tornado kick and then 'boom!' Mirror go bye-bye," I said as I tried to reenact his movements from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle and pull my shirt on all while trying to make my words sound as coherent as possible through my laughter.

"I know, bro. Did you see how freakin' pissed those two chicks were? With a reaction like that you would think I had kicked a mirror through one of their windshields or something like that," he muttered in a serious tone which only caused us to laugh harder.

Soon enough we both had tears in our eyes and I was holding onto my side as I curled up into a twisted fetal position in my seat. It was close to a thirty-mile drive back to Jason's from the pool hall and I laughed for twenty-eight of them, only stopping for two because a police cruiser was behind us and we both got a little paranoid about getting pulled over.

By this point my body was running on nothing but pure adrenaline and I didn't even see the white Dodge Ram from the bar that was following us, staying just far enough behind us to not arouse my suspicions. I also didn't notice that Jason was throwing nervous glances into the rearview mirror which wouldn't have made sense anyway because it was dark out and the only thing he could hope to see were headlights.

"Dude, we need to get some tunes going in here," Jason muttered, pulling a CD from his visor and handing it to me "Throw this on, bro."

I took the CD and laughed at the burned disc marked "Jason's Red Ranger Jams: Do Not Listen If You Aren't A Power Ranger."

"Way to be real inconspicuous, bro," I replied, holding up the disc and trying not to smile.

Normally I would have been angry that Jason had something like that laying around his car but I was on too much of an alcohol influenced buzz and a natural high from all the excitement that night to really pay much attention to it. Instead I put the CD into the player and began to laugh as "The Sign" by Ace of Base came on.

"Dude, you gotta be kidding me. We used to all love this song when we were kids," I laughed and then hung my head out the window "I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes, I saw the sign. Yeah, baby. Woo-hoo!"

Eventually after twenty seconds or so of screaming I lowered myself back into the car and hit the "skip" button on the player. When I heard the beat kick in I just looked at Jason and smiled as he nodded his head back at me.

"Oh yeah, Tommy. You know how it goes. Sing it with me, bro!" he shouted and I joined in with him.

_I love it when you call me Big Pop-pa  
Throw your hands in the air, if yous a true playa  
I love it when you call me Big Pop-pa  
To the honies getting' money playin dudes like dummies  
I love it when you call me Big Pop-pa  
If you got a gun up in your waist please don't shoot up the place  
Cause I see some ladies tonight who should be havin' my baby  
Bay-bee_

"Aww, man. I sure miss the old days, bro," I muttered as we pulled up to his house "Sometimes I wish things had turned out differently you know? Or that I could go back and change some things, do some things differently."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked as my expression changed. He knew what I was talking about and when he heard the words it was like he had won some huge battle.

As I climbed out of the SUV, Jason put his arm around me shoulders and led me down the driveway towards the street. When we were about twenty feet from the sidewalk we stopped and he looked at me.

"Well, what if I told you that you can't relive your past but that you can definitely make your life what you hoped it would be, starting today?" he asked.

"What do you mean, 'change my future?'" I replied.

"What would you say, Tommy? We're not going any further until you answer me," he answered "What would you say if I told you you could have your life the way you want it?"

I pondered the question in silently for a few moments until I came up with a reply that I thought would be fairly reasonable.

"I guess I'd ask you where I signed up and what the catch was," I replied.

"Well, you sign up here and the catch is that it's going to take a lot of effort on your part," he muttered back "Tommy, you're gonna hate me when I show you this but you'll thank me in a few months."

"Jason Scott, what the hell did you do?" I asked angrily as he led me to the sidewalk.

I looked to my right and saw nothing out of the ordinary but then I looked to my left and saw the familiar white truck from the bar. I stared at Jason with a shocked and nervous look on my face as he made a motion with his hand, apparently signaling someone in the car.

The door clicked open and I watched as a pair of small feet in cowboy boots landed on the pavement. As the door closed I got my first look at the driver of the car but I couldn't see her face because of the darkness.

As she walked towards me the street light illuminated her face and I nearly fell on my back which was only prevented because Jason had come over and prevented me from falling down.

I tried to put on my best happy face for her as the petite woman got closer and when I saw that she was just as nervous as I was and she saw that I was just as nervous as her, we both calmed down and relaxed a little bit.

She wrapped her arms around my waist tightly as I bent down to warmly return the embrace. Jason caught my eye and even though I wanted to be furious with him, I couldn't. He would have to explain to me how he pulled all this off in only a few days time and why he did it but for now I was content with simply pulling the small woman close to me and whispering the words "Hey there, Beautiful" into her ear.


	3. Righting Wrongs

That night was the first time I had seen Kimberly in person since the karate tournament right after the incident on Murianthis. The wounds of our breakup were still fresh and as much as I wanted to talk to her and be friendly with her I just couldn't do it. I clung to Kat which, Jason told me later, alienated Kim and made her feel unwelcome.

Ostracizing Kim, who had been so important to me, was the last thing I wanted to do but not having to talk to her had also definitely made things easier on me. We went our separate ways after that, our only communication being an occasional email or a rare phone call for something really important like a birthday.

When Jason brought Kim over that night, I didn't know how to react. I wanted to scream, smile, laugh and cry all at the same time but I couldn't do any of that stuff so I held onto her tightly for what seemed like an hour until Jason cleared his throat and directed us towards the house.

Instinctively, I allowed my arm to wrap around Kim's waist while she laid her head on my shoulder, taking me back to when we were kids when we promised that we would always love each other and be there for each other no matter what.

It was a juvenile promise, made by two young kids who knew nothing about love or the real world but I held onto that agreement even when everyone else told me I shouldn't. She broke my heart but I tried as hard as I possibly could to not direct any ill feelings towards her after the letter, mostly because I knew in my heart that I loved her and always would.

Seeing her that day was…indescribable I guess. Everything I had ever felt for her came rushing back at me. By the time we had gotten back into the house, found seats in the living room and had Jason hand us each a beer it was like nothing had changed.

We laughed loudly with each other and told stories about the last ten years. After Jason and I explained the Red Ranger mission to Kim, Jason disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, leaving Kim and I alone, but came back a few minutes later carrying three shot glasses and a bottle of tequila.

I looked at Kim in shock especially after seeing the growing smile on her face, the same one that Jason was now sporting. He set the glasses down and filled each one.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for 'I Never' brought to you live from Jason's house!" he yelled "Our contestants today are Tommy Oliver, former Green, White, Red and Black Ranger. He enjoys long walks on the beach, quiet nights with a book and dreams of being the first active Power Ranger to collect Social Security and qualify for Medicare."

Kim burst out laughing as I shot Jason an evil glare which he replied to with a smile and then continued.

"He's joined tonight by Kimberly Hart, former Pink Ranger," he continued "She enjoys gymnastics, swimming and confessing her deepest secrets after only three shots of tequila. She's joined tonight by the ultra-sexy, unbelievably cool, godlike former Red and Gold Ranger, Jason Lee Scoot. Okay, everyone, it's time to play the game. You all know the rules and Kim, since you won the coin toss backstage, you get to start the game."

Kim looked a little sheepish as she tried to think of something to say that would be funny. It took her a minute but she finally came up with something.

"I never ran across the school's basketball court in my boxers during halftime of a playoff game," she said as Jason and I each looked at each other and laughed before taking a shot.

"Hey, you can't even say that that wasn't funny. Plus we had ski masks on but I think Caplan still had an idea that it was us anyway," I replied with a smile "Now, let's see here. I never made out with Trini."

Jason immediately went for his glass but what shocked us both was that Kim did the same thing and knocked back her shot before either of us could say anything. We looked at each other with wide eyes and then burst out laughing again.

"Dude, did you have any idea?" Jason asked me as I quickly shook my head "Kim, you gotta explain this one to us."

"There's not really much to explain," she murmured "Trini came to visit me after the Pan Global Games, we got drunk with some of my teammates and played Truth or Dare. I got dared and you both know I don't go down without a fight."

Jason and I looked back at each other and nodded our heads in agreement as Kim refilled her glass and Jason's glass with the tequila.

"I never was late for a battle because I was too busy getting action," Jason said with a chuckle "No justification will be necessary ladies, just take your shots and continue because I really don't want to hear an explanation that could include the words 'park', 'beach', 'kiss' or anything else like that."

I gave Kim a quick smile and a wink before throwing the burning liquid down my throat. As soon as I had swallowed the liquid I stood up, threw my hands into the air and let out a roar.

"I am the tequila god!" I called out to no one in particular "Bow at my feet you measly peasants. You are not worthy to be in my presence."

Kim quickly grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back into my seat on the couch. I tried to get up but she held me down and eventually I got tired of fighting back.

We went back and forth like that until we could barely stand to even be awake anymore. Jason had passed out shortly after the seventh or eighth "I never" but Kim and I continued to play until the morning sun started to creep in through the windows causing ger to let out an exhausted yawn.

"Wow, it's late. Or early I guess," she muttered "I think I'm going to try and get some sleep."

She pushed herself off the couch and tried to make her way past me but I reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. At that point, any ideas I had were strictly driven by the alcohol but I didn't care so I gently pushed her back into her seat next to me.

"One more and then you can go to sleep, I promise," I whispered as she looked at my puppy dog eyes and gave in.

"Fine," she grumbled and then grabbed the bottle "One more and then I'm done. There's only a shot or two left in the bottle anyways. We might as well finish it. Technically it's Jason's turn but he's clearly in no shape to participate so you go."

I took the bottle and glasses and moved them out of her reach and then slowly took her hands in mine, forcing her to look at me. She tried to pull back but I held on tight and refused to let go of her.

"My turn again, huh?" I whispered softly "I never broke our promise, Kim. And as long as I live, I never will."

Tears formed in her eyes almost as soon as the words escaped my lips. I couldn't tell if they were happy tears or sad tears, all I know is that I wanted to comfort her and stop her tears. Somehow my lips met hers and it was like our first kiss all over again. I felt a wave of happiness that soon turned into disappointment as she pulled away and broke the kiss.

"I think you've had a little too much to drink, tiger," she said as she stood up and patted me on the shoulder "I'm going to bed. I'll see you later."

She walked away from me like I hadn't just completely poured my heart out to her and went into one of the guest bedrooms, slowly pulling the door closed behind her. Eventually, I pulled my eyes from the door and buried my hands in my face. After a few minutes I slowly stood up, trying not to stagger and then turned toward Kim's room.

"GOD DAMNIT KIMBERLY!" I yelled, loud enough to wake Jason "I LOVE YOU! DON'T YOU GET THAT?! I FUCKING LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING ON THIS GOD FORSAKEN PLANET! BUT YOU DON'T EVEN SEEM TO GIVE A SHIT! FUCK ALL OF THIS SHIT!"

I instantly felt more emotional then I had in years as Jason wrapped his arms around me and threw me back down on the couch before he hissed at me to be quiet. As tears began to fill my eyes, he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me a friendly hug. I knew he was trying to help but all I wanted at that point was to be as far away from him and Kim as possible.

"Dude, you're drunk. You need to stop yelling and get some sleep," he muttered "A drunken stupor isn't exactly the best time to profess your feelings for someone, bro. Go sleep for a few hours and then talk to her when you wake up, okay?"

I shook my head violently and used my shirt sleeve to wipe my face before turning my head and looking back at my best friend.

"You don't get it, man. You have no idea how hard it is to have lived without the person you love more than anything in the world for this long," I answered quietly "Every day I wake up wishing Kim was laying next to me and that she had never sent me that stupid letter. Ten years ago I thought we'd be married with kids, a dog and a white picket fence by now. Some people are just meant to be together and I know deep down that Kim and I are. I just really wish that she could see how important she is to me, ya know?"

Jason looked taken aback by my sudden outburst of feelings and emotions but he was also more than used to it by now. I tend to keep everything bottled up inside until I can't take it anymore and nine times out of ten Jason is the one who is there for my meltdown.

Without Jason to listen to me I'd probably have been locked in a white room, bouncing off padded walls in a straitjacket by the time I was twenty. For a second I thought I saw him give a quick head nod but quickly dismissed the idea as the alcohol playing tricks on me. I didn't know it at the time but Kim was standing in the doorway with Jason's approval and was listening to our entire conversation.

"Come on man, don't say that I don't know what you're going through because you know as well as I do that that's complete and utter bullshit. I've been there for you through every thing, good and bad," he replied softly "I know how much Kim means to you and I know that you would forgive her at the drop of a hat if it was possible but it's not. There's a lot more to everything than you know and before anything can happen with you and her there are some things that need to be worked out. Just trust me when I say that Kim needs you now as much as you need her. You have a chance to make things right but you can't do it like this. And I don't mean to be an ass but you're a complete train wreck right now. You need to downshift a gear or two and jut let things work themselves out, okay?"

By this point in the conversation/intervention the tears that had filled my eyes minutes before were now falling down my face in a flurry. Eventually I managed to compose myself enough to be led down the hall to my room by the more sober Jason. As we passed Kim's room I heard her crying and I wanted nothing more than to burst into the room and be her white knight but Jason wouldn't let me.

"Wait until you both have slept this off," he insisted "No good can come from going in there drunk and trying to save the day. Trust me on that."

I didn't have the physical or mental strength to argue with him at that point so I just nodded my head as he directed me to the bedroom that would be mine for the duration of the summer. When I reached the room I turned back around, called for Jason and waited until he reappeared in the hallway.

"I just wanted to say thanks for the little talk and apologize for how immature I was a few minutes ago," I muttered humbly "You're a great friend and I don't know where I would be without you man. Honestly."

"You're welcome and apology accepted. Now just go to bed, please," he pleaded as I laughed and said good night, closing the door behind me.

The bed in Jason's guest room was bigger than the one I had in my bedroom back home and it looked extremely inviting. I didn't even bother to shed my khaki shorts and t-shirt before I climbed into the bed and allowed the comfort it offered to quickly carry me away and into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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When I woke up at noon I instantly felt the pain, both physically and emotionally, of the endeavors from the day before. My head was splitting and my ears were ringing from the over-the-top amount of alcohol I had consumed but my spirit and heart were aching just as bad.

I dug some ibuprofen out of one of my bags and popped four of them into my mouth, not even bothering to use water. There were so many things running through my head at that point but the first thing on my list was to take a nice hot shower and clean up a little bit.

By the time I got out of the bathroom thirty minutes the medicine had kicked in and my headache was slowly subsiding. The smell of lunch came wafting down the halls and I heard my stomach growling so I allowed it to lead the way into the living room where I found Jason playing video games and Kim cooking in the kitchen.

Jason tossed one of the controllers to me but I just shook my head and tossed it back, opting for the kitchen instead. I muttered a good morning to Kim and then poured myself a large glass of orange juice which I emptied in a matter of seconds.

"Well that was impressive," Kim commented in a sarcastic tone with her famous smile "And not to mention _extremely_ sexy."

"Hey, don't be jealous just because you can't do it," I answered and then quickly observed what Kim had going on "So what's on the menu, Ms. Hart? It is still Ms. Hart, right?"

"I'm making fried chicken with mashed potatoes, southern gravy, sweet corn and biscuits," she replied "And yes, it is still Ms. Hart. No one's been lucky enough to change that. Yet."

"Well, maybe I'll be the lucky one," I shot back and then quickly changed directions "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

"Can you handle peeling and mashing the potatoes for me, tough guy?" she asked with a smile.

"If it meant another shot with you I'd make you a gourmet three-course meal," I answered, trying not to laugh at the expression of shock she was now wearing. Instead of waiting for a reply I just picked up the potato peeler and went to work.

I had never been so happy with after being stuck with peeling potatoes before in my life. Unlike most bachelors, my cooking skills had evolved and I could definitely handle more than peeling potatoes but it was okay because I was with Kim.

We were standing side-by-side in the kitchen, joking and laughing like the events from earlier had never even happened. I decided for the subtle approach of innocent flirting and gently bumped Kim with the side of my butt.

I expected some sort of retaliation but all she did was look up at me with her beautiful brown eyes and smile. Right there I remembered how easy it was for me to get lost in those eyes and how her smile always managed to brighten my day no matter how bad it had been.

"You don't have to stay in here with me, you know?" she muttered and then dropped a piece of chicken into the fryer "Jason looks pretty lonely in there and there's nothing you can do in here."

"I don't care," I replied as I stepped behind her and slowly wrapped my arms around her waist "I'd much rather be in here with you anyway."

I was expecting her to resist or break the embrace but she just allowed her body to lean into mine as she laid her head on my shoulder. She tilted her head back a little, allowing her eyes to meet my own and then exhaled deeply.

"When lunch is over I think we need to talk, Tommy," she whispered and I simply nodded my head in agreement.

I knew we would have to talk eventually but I still didn't want to. I had made up my mind years ago that I would always love her and there was nothing she could say that could even begin to change that.

A few minutes later the food was ready and I helped Kim serve it up and bring it to the table. Jason had just finished his game of _Mortal Kombat_ and sat down at the table only to find that there wasn't a plate for him.

"What's the deal? I don't get to eat?" he grumbled.

"No one said that," Kim shot back "But we cooked while you played your stupid game. You can get your own plate, Mr. Scott."

"Touché," he replied and then made his way to the kitchen to serve himself.

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We finished eating twenty minutes later or so and I had just gotten up from the table to start clearing it when I felt Kim grab my wrist and jerk me back down into my seat. I looked at her and all she did was shake her head.

"No way, Tommy. Where I come from the cook doesn't clean," she said "We need to talk and Jason is fully capable of handling the dishes, aren't you Jason?"

He tried to protest but in his heart he knew it wouldn't do any good so he conceded defeat and began to clear the table. I got up from the table and extended my hand to Kim which she took with a smile as I helped her to her feet before heading towards the privacy of a bedroom when Jason yelled at us.

"I'm famous for Christ's sake!" he called out "I should have someone doing this shit for me, you know!"

"Hey, Jase," I replied "Have you read that book?"

"What book?" he asked with a confused look.

"_No One Gives A Shit_. It's a best-seller," I answered as Kim laughed out loud and we ducked into her bedroom, closing and locking the door before Jason could say anything else.

Kim sat down on the edge of her bed and, thankfully, gave me the signal that it was okay to sit down next to her so I did. She lowered her head and when she looked up a few moments later she had tears running down her face. I tried to reach out and wipe them away but she jerked back, not allowing me to help.

"Don't, Tommy," she muttered "I deserve to cry."

"What do you mean?" I asked "You haven't done anything wrong, Kim."

"How can you say that, Tommy? I broke your heart because I thought you couldn't love me if you were in Angel Grove and I was in Florida," she answered "I was afraid that because Kat took my place on the team that she'd eventually take my place in your heart."

"So there was no other guy?" I asked in partial shock.

"No," she replied as she wiped the tears from her eyes "I'm a terrible person, aren't I?"

"Do you want an honest answer, Kim?" I asked as she nodded her head slowly "I thought you were a terrible person, I really did. I didn't understand how you could break up with me after everything we had been through together. At seventeen we had been through more shit then every couple that has ever walked on this planet. We fought monsters together, we dealt with losing our powers and teammates but above all that, we loved each other and I thought that that would be enough to get us through everything. You're not a terrible person, Kim. We were young and kids make mistakes and as hard as that is, that's just the way life goes sometimes."

"I thought you were naive to think that love could get us through anything, Tommy, when in reality I was the naïve one because I doubted it. I really felt like you could never love me if all we had were letters and phone calls to stay connected," she replied "When that thing happened on Murianthis and you took off your helmet to try and help me all my feelings came rushing back even though I was still possessed. I had come back with Jason to try and fix things with you but then there was the karate tournament and I saw how you instantly flocked to Kat so I panicked and gave up. It was one of the 'Terrible Three.'"

"Terrible Three?" I asked in confusion "What's the Terrible Three?"

"Oh, it's just something Trini and I came up with one day. We agreed that I had made three terrible mistakes at that point in my life and, ironically, they all involved you," she answered "The first one was leaving Angel Grove for Florida, the second was breaking up with you and the third was not fighting for you when I came back. And before you get defensive and ask why breaking up with you was second it's because if I hadn't left in the first place I know we would have been together forever."

"You know something, Kim. After I had given up my Turbo powers to TJ I suddenly was alone. Kat disappeared from my life and I had no one to turn to except Jason," I muttered "A few days after the transfer I woke up and realized that I was stupid for not trying to get you back. As much as I wanted Kat to be you, she couldn't because you are the closest thing to perfect God has blessed this earth with. I just wish I had fought for you but I guess when you said you loved me like a brother I felt like it wasn't my place to do that anymore."

"I wish you would have and I wish I would have done the same thing because if we had this conversation would have been over with a long time ago and I could just do this," she replied.

As soon as the words escaped her lips she grabbed the sides of my face and began kissing me with a passion that I hadn't experienced in over a decade. A few seconds later we broke the kiss that had left us blushing and smiling at the same time.

"You know, Kat might have been a better kisser," I teased "You might have to improve your skills a little bit more. Like this."

I put my finger under her chin and lifted her head up as I bent down and let my lips softly meet her own. When I pulled back a few seconds later Kim was biting her lip and slightly smirking.

"God I wish I had never sent you that letter," she muttered "I can't believe I missed out on ten years of your incredible kisses."

"Well, how about you let me take you out for dinner tomorrow night and if I get a goodnight kiss when we're done I'll think about forgiving you," I replied with an evil grin and I knew I had her.

"I think that can be arranged but only if you let me kick your butt in bowling after dinner," she answered "You still like to bowl, right?"

"Of course," I answered "But you were the only one who could ever give me a challenge. I haven't been to a bowling alley in years except for one time after graduating college when me and Haley went to a bar inside of a bowling alley and I ended up riding a mechanical bull in nothing but a cowboy hat, boxer shorts and socks. You play your cards right and you might get to see history repeat itself."

Kim smiled back at me as she playfully pushed herself into my shoulder with her own. I acted like I was going to reciprocate but just as I leaned in I turned my head and quickly kissed Kim on the cheek.

"Still as spontaneous as ever, Handsome," she said softly "What do you say we get out of here? I'm sure Jason is going nuts out there trying to figure out how to start the dishwasher by himself."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I answered as I stood up and wrapped my arm around her waist, leading her back into the living room.

Since the breakup I had wished for the day when Kim and I would be together again almost every day of my life. Now that that day was here, I realized how empty the last ten years of my life had been. Sure there was Jason, Haley, the Dino Thunder team, Adam, Zack and all my other old teammates but nothing could ever fill the void in my life the way Kim did that day.

A wise man named Richard Bach once said that "if you love someone, let them go. If they come back, they're yours. If not, then they never were." He was right and now that I had Kim back, I was never going to lose her again.

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_DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! I HATE MYSELF!_

_When I finished writing their getting back together in _Back to Action_ I promised myself that I would make it harder in my next story. But it wasn't. Then, when I wrote it in _A Very Ranger Reunion_ I again promised myself that they wouldn't get back together so easily in my next story._

_WHY FANFICTION GODS? WHY DO YOU CURSE ME WITH THE INABILITY TO KEEP TOMMY AND KIM APART FOR MORE THAN A HANDFUL OF CHAPTERS!?!?!?! WHY ME?!?!_

_Oh well, I guess I'm just a sap that really loves Kim and Tommy together. I watched _I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger_ today and it was the last time Kim and Tommy were together on an episode and you know what they did? They freaking kissed underneath mistletoe and I got sad that they didn't end up together. They were the perfect relationship. Disney, Saban or whoever owns PR now, I beg of you BRING BACK KIM/TOMMY. WE NEED CLOSURE DAMMIT!_

_Okay, I'm done, sorry about all that. In all seriousness though guys, I only have like 9 reviews for this story. I had like 12 reviews alone for the first chapter of my last story. It's not necessarily the reviews that are important but I want to know if this is even worth putting the effort in to continuing. I want to write for you guys but if you aren't interested than it's hard for me to be interested and unless you tell me you're interested I have to assume that you aren't interested. HAHA! Wow! What a freakin' night. Talk to you all soon._


	4. The Four Musketeers

_**Author's note/Disclaimer: I'm just throwing this out there for you so that no one gets offended. The content in some of the conversations and the content in general in this chapter gets a little lewd and dirty so if that offends you, don't read it. HAHA. Enjoy.**_

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Somehow, the fact that it was Sunday when I asked Kim out had slipped my mind. By the time Sunday evening had rolled around I realized that Kim probably had a regular nine-to-five job and wouldn't want to go out on a Monday considering it was a work night.

By the time we had come out of the bedroom the dishwasher was running and Jason had disappeared, apparently into his basement gym to work out. There was some movie playing on the television but neither Kim nor I were paying much attention to it. I was perfectly content laying on the couch with Kim nestled against me, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and occasionally kissing the top of her head.

"We're gonna have to reschedule our little date, huh?" I asked in a whisper.

"Why would you say that?" she asked in reply, a hint of shock and confusion littering her voice.

"Well, I figured you probably have work tomorrow and wouldn't really be up to going out on a work night," I answered.

"Tommy, come on. I won three Olympic gold medals, I've got my own very successful gymnastics academy and more endorsement deals than ninety percent of the NBA and NFL combines," she replied with a chuckle "I think I can spare a night for the man who makes me happier than I ever thought possible. But only if I get to see you ride a mechanical bull."

Suddenly, she gracefully flipped herself over in one quick motion so that our faces were mere inches from each other. I went to reply to her statement but as soon as I opened my mouth to speak her lips met mine in a soft and loving kiss.

"Uh, what were we talking about again?" I asked a few seconds later when we broke the kiss.

"I was talking about mechanical bulls and how sexy I think you would look riding one," she whispered with a smile "And you wanted to say something back but I really don't want to hear what you have to say so just shut up and kiss me, okay?"

She looked so beautiful laying there in sweats and an old green flannel of mine that I had let her borrow when we were kids and never got back. Who was I to turn this gorgeous lady down? At that moment I couldn't have said no even if I wanted to but I didn't want to so I guess that doesn't really matter anyway.

"You are so beautiful, Kim," I said softly as my lips found hers again.

We heard Jason start coming up the stairs so Kim quickly flipped back around and I draped my arm around her as we acted like we were both asleep. It was a move we had pulled many times before when we just wanted to be alone but, unfortunately, we had pulled it on Jason enough times to where he knew what we were really doing.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You two want to be alone," he muttered as he went into the kitchen "I'm just getting something to drink and I'll be on my way. I wouldn't want to disturb you guys even though Tommy's _supposed_ to be hanging out with _me._"

Kim and I both detected a hint of anger or possibly bitterness in Jason's tone of voice and when he disappeared back downstairs again Kim stood up and looked right at me like she had something really important to say.

"He's right, Tommy. This was supposed to be your guys time to hang out," she said with a hint of disappointment "I think I'm gonna head home now, maybe go for a jog or something. Call me tonight and we'll iron everything out for tomorrow, okay Handsome?"

I wanted to protest and keep her there with me forever but I had been around Kim enough to tell when it was safe to argue and when it was best to just shut up and agree. This was definitely a "shut up and agree" time so arguing would do no good regardless of what I said. I could have told her that if she walked out the door that aliens would abduct her and the only way for her to be safe was to stay with me and she still would have gone home.

"Alright," I muttered in defeat "But at least let me walk you to your car."

She nodded her head in silent agreement as I let my right hand grab hold of her left hand on the way to the door. When we got outside I kissed her goodbye and helped her into the truck, disappointed that she was going but excited about the prospect of Monday night's date. It was going to be our first official date in a decade and it was going to be nothing short of perfect if I had my way.

Begrudgingly, I went back into the house and threw on a tank top and some basketball shorts as I went downstairs to find Jason attacking a punching bag. He didn't hear me come in and he had left his water bottle unattended so I picked it up, silently crept over to where he was standing and poured it down the back of his shorts. It would have been a borderline gay move for any other man to do that to another guy but there was some unwritten rule between myself and Jason that made things like that acceptable to do to each other. And not to mention absoultely hilarious.

"Aww, fuck!" he yelled as he jumped up and spun around to face me "You're a dick you know that right, bro?"

"Yeah, but it was funny, huh?" I shot back quickly "So what's the deal man? You up for a little sparring or what? You got enough room down here to hold a tournament if you wanted to."

"Yeah, man, I can dig a little sparring right now," he replied "But only if you're down to get your ass handed to you."

He grinned at me and then we quickly made our way to the blue mats he had laid out on the concrete floor. We bowed to each other and then went at it, starting off slow to warm-up and then increasing our speed gradually until we were both going full strength.

Jason was the only person in my history of participating in the martial arts that could ever keep up with me and time really hadn't changed anything. I would dodge a kick then he would block a punch and for almost twenty minutes it continued like that, neither of us able to mount any sort of real offense.

Finally, I saw an opening and as he went for a tornado kick I managed to duck underneath it. When he landed I quickly swept my leg at his feet, taking him down to the floor. His back made a thud as he fell against the mat and I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"I know you better than you know yourself," I said with a smile, extending my hand to help him up.

"And I know you just as well," he replied as he grabbed my hand and pulled me down with him.

"God dammit," I muttered, slapping my hands against the mats "I guess that's what I get for being a nice guy."

"You know what they say, bro," he returned as he rolled onto his back and did a kip-up on to his feet "Nice guys finish last."

We bantered back and forth for a little bit, hurling our best insults at each other until we ran out of material. The jokes and wisecracks were never original, always the same with the same result which happened to be us staring at each other, waiting for someone else to say something until we both conceded and moved on to something else.

"One of these days I'm going to come up with something new and finally beat you," I said with a chuckle "You do know that, right?"

"Tommy, man, you've been saying that since we were kids," he replied "And until I hear it, I'm going to continue operating under the assumption that you don't have anything good therefore I don't need anything good to beat you."

We laughed a little and then moved on to the weight bench that Jason had sitting in the corner. Bench pressing was the only thing he had ever been able to consistently outdo me in so I just shook my head and went to spotting for him instead of trying to out lift him.

He lifted for a few minutes and then realized that I wanted nothing to do with a weight lifting contest so he quit and set the bar back onto the rack. I picked up a towel off one of the counters and tossed it to him, trying not to laugh at the sweat pouring down his face from his over-exertion in attempting to beat me in a contest I had no interest in participating in.

"What do you say we go get cleaned up and then give the guys a call?" Jason muttered "Adam and Rocky made me promise we'd go do something when you got into town."

"Yeah, man that sounds cool," I answered "What do you have in mind?"

"Don't know, don't care," he replied "As long as it doesn't involve you on a mechanical bull in a cowboy hat, socks and boxers, I think we'll be alright."

My face turned tomato red when I realized that he had heard me talking to Kim earlier.

"You were listening to our conversation?" I asked "That's kinda fucked up man. That was supposed to be between Kim and me."

"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down a second their, turbo," he replied "I didn't _want_ to hear it. I was just trying to go to my bathroom but you weren't exactly quiet. Besides, it's not a big deal. We've all done stupid drunk shit before. Remember the time at that weird ass frat party?"

"Which one? The one where you got drunk and tried to hump a tree?" I answered with a laugh "Or the one where we drove you to that block of sorority houses so you could run naked down the street, screaming 'do me now before I'm famous and too good for all of you' into a megaphone until every girl on the street was standing outside laughing at you?"

"Well, I was actually talking about the time where that chick from Alpha Phi Gamma dared me to stick my dick in the corner pocket of a pool table and then Zack and Adam duct taped me to the table for six hours and almost forced me to miss my chemistry mid-term," he replied as we both burst into laughter at our college memories "But I guess those two you mentioned are good examples too."

"Damn, man. It seems like forever since we were in college," I muttered "You did some messed up shit back in the day, bro."

"Yeah, I sure did. But I never got drunk enough to do body shots off a transsexual stripper," he replied with a grin, catching me completely off guard "Remember when you pulled the lime from her mouth and she was all 'Yeah baby, bite that thing,' in that deep ass voice? I thought you were gonna shit yourself and throw up at the same time."

"Hey, she looked okay in the dark after nine shots of tequila," I shot back "I still can't believe I didn't see the Adam's apple though. I get chills every time I think about that night."

We continued to reminisce for almost a half-hour, going back and forth with all our crazy college memories. Because of Ranger duty, none of us had ever really gotten to do the things in high school that everyone else was doing and for the first two years of college we treated it like make-up time for high school until we came to the realization that we were basically paying to get drunk every night, sleep in a cramped dorm room and barely pass our classes.

"Alright, man. I'm gonna go hop in the shower and get ready," Jason muttered "I can tell you're dying to call Kim so go do it now because tonight is a 'no cell phones allowed' night out with the boys."

"Alright but before we go I wanted to ask you something," I replied as he turned back around to face me "You seemed kinda pissed that I was hanging with Kim when you came upstairs earlier. Am I totally off base with that or is there really something wrong?"

He looked nervous for a split-second but quickly changed his expression to a smile and said that nothing was wrong.

"We're good, bro," he said and threw his arm around my shoulder "I just want to spend some time with my best bud, that's all. Is that too much to ask?"

I knew deep down that there was more to what was going on then what he was saying but I also knew that he would tell me when he wanted to so I agreed and we went upstairs, him going to get cleaned up and me going to talk to Kim to firm up everything for our date.

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It was about an hour to drive to Stone Canyon but Jason also had TV's in the visors and headrests of his Denali so the ride went a lot quicker. I had already watched one episode of _24_ and was midway through the second when we pulled up to their place.

"I can't believe they still live together. They're almost 30," I muttered as we got out of the SUV "Am I the only one who does anything normal? Kim's a famous gymnast, you're a famous fighter, Zack's a famous record producer, Rocky and Adam own seven freakin' karate schools and I'm a damn high school science teacher."

"Dude, you may not be famous in the way that some of us are but you've also done more good in the world than all of us combined," he replied "You've not only led four different generations of Rangers but you also created and mentored your own team. None of us can say that and honestly, I'd give up all of my money and fame to be able to say that I did those things. Well…most of it. But still, you get the point."

"Yeah, I guess I really have done a lot, huh?" I answered "Okay, that's it. No more whining or bitching tonight. We're here to have fun. Let's go get Adam and Rocky."

"God bless. I was hoping you'd say that," he replied "You've only been in town for two days and I've already had to give you two pep talks. If we go at this rate I'm gonna run out of shit to say."

I laughed a little bit and gave Jason a playful shove as we made our way up the walkway. As we got to the door we pounded on it in unison, as loud as humanly possible until we heard someone come running down the stairs and Adam flung the door open.

"Let's go, bitch," Jason said with a laugh as he gave Adam a hug "We don't have all night. Well, technically we do, but still. Get Rocky and let's go."

"Well, yes sir Mister Red Ranger Sir. Let me get right on that for you. Hey, Rocky! Get your ass down here!" Adam yelled loudly "Oh, hey, by the way. Hi, to you too ya dick. Tommy, man. How've you been?"

"Good, man. Yourself?" I replied, giving Adam a friendly hug as Rocky came down the stairs "Rocko! I knew I smelled that shit water you call cologne."

"Hey man, if it's good enough for your mom, it's good enough for me," he returned and then brushed his shoulder "Yep, still got it. Just like riding a bike. Or your mom since we're talking about riding things."

"Yeah, yeah we've heard it all, Rock," Adam interjected with a grin "You screw Tommy's mom, Jason screws mine, I screw yours and Tommy goes to bed with Rosy Palm and her five friends."

There they were, two of my best friends in the world, making fun of me and laughing because I refused to have sex outside of a committed relationship but for once it really didn't bother me. I had been with two girls in my whole life and the two clowns had never let me live it down. In the back of my head, however, I was okay with it because I knew that the number would change to three soon and that I'd never have to increase it again.

"Yeah, but Tommy's gonna be changing that soon enough though, aren't ya bro?" Jason joked with a smile, giving me a playful elbow to my side.

"Really? This is news to me," Rocky added "What happened? Did you finally decide to let the right head do the thinking for once?"

"Nope, still thinking with the same one," I replied, tapping the side of my head "And it just so happens that using the one up top to get the girl is so much more rewarding. I guess I should just tell you now before Jason does that Kim and I are back together."

"Aww man, that's awesome, Tommy," Adam interjected "Seriously dude, I'm happy for you."

"Yeah, bro. What he said," Rocky added, jerking his thumb towards Adam "No hard feelings about the jokes right?"

"Rocky, if I got pissed every time one of you dick heads made a joke about my mom or my sex life, I'd be a very angry and bitter person," I answered "Now let's forget about all this shit and go have some fun, okay? I don't want to hear another word about me, Kim or my sex life for the rest of the night."

"That's fine by me," Adam replied with a broad grin "As long as you don't end up doing body shots of a tranny tonight we won't mention a thing."

"I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" I asked jokingly as we got into the car and drove away.

"Did you know that California wants to try and reduce violent crimes by changing the death penalty to Jack Bauer's fist?" Rocky asked as the familiar clock tick from _24_ echoed throughout Jason's SUV.

"Yes, Rocky, we do," Adam answered "We also know that Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas, Jack Bauer killed Kiefer Sutherland because Bauer gets played by no man and that if he was in a room with Hitler, Stalin and Nina Myers and had a gun with two bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice. Now get over your crush and watch the damn show."

Rocky instantly quieted down, apparently embarrassed that Adam had called him out for being a _24 _freak even though he had admitted on numerous occasions to being obsessed with the show. Twenty minutes later we had arrived at the place Jason was taking us and as we pulled up I couldn't help but laugh out loud along with Adam and Rocky. Jason had literally picked the seediest and most back woods strip club he could find and the only thing that even allowed me to step foot into the less than classy establishment was the promise of free beer and no one ever telling Kim.

Jason, Rocky and I all laughed as we got through the door and the bouncer insisted on checking Adam's ID. Somehow, after knowing the guy for over ten years, he still looked the same as he did on the first day I met him.

We found a little round table in the corner next to the bar and took our seats as a waitress, and I use that word lightly, came over and asked us what we wanted to drink. We each ordered a beer and she came back with them a few minutes later as the first girl of the night came over and asked if any one wanted a dance.

All three of them quickly turned their heads towards me and I shook my head immediately as I felt my neck turning red. The scantily clad woman tried to convince me but I insisted that I was okay and that my girlfriend would probably kill me just for being here so she turned and left, disappointed that I wasn't willing to throw cash away for a lap dance.

One thing college taught me was that it was never, ever, ever, never, ever worth it to give a girl money to get naked. Apparently, however, Rocky and Adam were unfamiliar with my theory and within minutes of arriving they had both quickly disappeared into "private rooms" with some girl who insisted that she was doing this just so she could get through college which always made me laugh.

I don't really know how to describe what happened next but Jason had gotten up to go to the bathroom and a few seconds later I felt a pair of hands on my shoulder and I quickly turned around to stare at a very familiar face. Seeing Emily, Jason's old girlfriend, standing there in a see through top and matching mini skirt was quite possibly one of the weirdest things that had ever happened to me.

When she saw that it was me she instantly got embarrassed and flustered. It was taking everything I had to control my laughter and luckily Jason came out a few seconds later and did all the laughing for me.

"Wow, Em. Never thought I'd see you in a place like this," he said with a hint of meanness "I guess you never should have cheated on me with that football player from Berkeley, huh? Karma sure is a bitch 'cause that guy went nowhere, I'm world famous and you're almost thirty and taking your top off in a shack for dollar bills for guys who can't get laid. God damn, it's good to be me."

Emily ran away from the table in tears and, unfortunately, a bouncer happened to see it. I looked at Jason and rolled my eyes as the giant of a man came over to the table to see what the problem was.

"Yo fellas, what seems to be the problem," he said cracking his neck and then his knuckles "You just made Trinity cry and I don't like seeing my ladies cry."

"Trinity?" Jason answered with a laugh "Man, if that's not a cheesy stripper name, I don't know what is. Don't worry about it though, boss. We were just on our way out anyway, right T?"

We both tried to stand up but the oversized man put a big hand on each of our chests and pushed us down into our seats. Apparently, he thought we needed to be taught a lesson for making "Trinity" cry but I really wasn't in the mood to get in a fight for the second night in a row.

"Look, man," I said calmly "We don't want any trouble so how about you just let us get our friends and leave before something happens that you're going to regret in the morning."

He looked at us like he was sizing us up and then let out a laugh as he grabbed Jason by his shirt collar and lifted him out of his chair and into the air.

"Bad idea, big man," I muttered as Jason launched a kick right into the man's groin and he went down hard "Told ya you should have just let us go. Now see what you've done. In fifteen seconds all your bouncer friends are gonna run over here and try to fight us but there's a problem with that. Those two guys over there coming towards us are my friends and we all happen to be highly skilled in the martial arts. And while I normally don't like to beat up people weaker than myself, I think I can make an exception tonight."

No sooner had the words come out of my mouth then I heard the sound of another 300 pound man charging at me. Even with my back turned I side stepped the attack, grabbed the back of his shirt and sent him flying into the hundreds of alcohol bottles that lined the wall behind the bar.

"Hey, no fair!" I heard Rocky yell as he ran towards us "You can't start a fight in a strip club without us."

Needless to say it wasn't much of a fight and taking down the bouncers was much easier than the bikers Jason and I had dealt with the day before. By the time we had taken them all out the place was trashed and the girls were running all over the place, screaming at the top of their lungs.

As we left the club we saw Emily huddled in the corner with two other girls, apparently afraid that we would go after them next. Jason laughed loudly and quite mockingly as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a roll of hundred dollar bills wrapped with a rubber band and tossed them at Emily.

"Do something with your life," he muttered as we walked out, heading towards his car.

"Well, guys. Things like that are the reason I don't go to places like that," I replied with a laugh "But hey, at least we got a free beer out of it."

"Free my ass," Rocky added "I gave that girl 30 bucks and only got half a lap dance because of you and Jason making so much damn noise. I want my fifteen bucks for the other half of the dance back."

Jason, Adam and myself all turned to look at him at the same time but before we could say anything he held his hands up, signaling us to stop.

"I know, I know. Shut up, Rocky," he said with a smile as we all burst into laughter.

Somehow, I had managed to get in to two bar fights in a row and I was seriously hoping my luck would soon change. It would have to for my sake if I was going to manage to get through a whole date with Kim without any issues.

We made a quick stop at a convenience store to pick up a few cases of beer before heading back to Rocky and Adam's place. We hadn't really gotten to drink at all at the strip club and none of us were prepared to end the night without getting completely trashed. Being back with all my old friends was great but I also knew that it was only the start of a summer filled with memories that would turn out to make this the craziest summer of my whole life.

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	5. The Moment of Truth

_Alright, so I know I said this whole thing was going to be strictly Tommy's POV but I really want you guys to see how Jason feels about everything and what's going on with him so I'm going to include a little bit about what he's thinking and dealing with. Enjoy! Please review if you have the time. Thanks!  
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_Jason's POV_

As eleven o'clock in the morning eventually rolled around, the headache that attacked me when I woke up that morning after our long night of drinking and rambunctious activity was definitely not an easy thing to shake. We had stayed up until almost five, playing video games, wrestling and going through almost two thirty-packs of Rocky Mountain goodness.

I could feel the pressure and pain quickly spreading all throughout my head and I knew at that moment that I wasn't going to be drinking again for a while. At least if I could help it I wouldn't be but somehow I knew that with Tommy in town, I wasn't going to be able to keep that resolution for very long.

When I woke up from my precarious position on the carpeted floor, my legs somehow draped across Rocky's chest and a stack of magazines for a pillow, I noticed that everyone but myself was still sound asleep, especially Rocky who was snoring loudly and annoyingly. I quickly and quietly rolled over and pushed myself up off the floor.

Every muscle in my body was tense so I did a few light stretches to help loosen them up a bit before ducking into the bathroom, silently hoping that I would be able to find some Tylenol somewhere in the house.

There was a bottle in the medicine cabinet that was mounted to the wall and I quickly opened it, dumping a few of the pills into my open palm. After I finished swallowing the small red pills, I pulled out my cell phone and hit the power button.

As the device came to life I laughed at the fact that I had five missed calls and four new voice mails, all of which happened to be from Kimberly. After listening to the messages, each sounding more frantic and urgent than the previous ones, I stepped outside and began scrolling through my phone book for a few seconds until I found her number, which was listed under the name "Pinky," then hit the call button and waited for her to answer.

She picked up almost immediately, not bothering to wait for the first ring to finish, as if she'd been waiting by the phone for me to call. Her voice was panicky and she sounded exhausted.

"Kim, Kim, Kim. Calm down for a second and slow it down a bit," I said calmly "I got your voicemails and you sounded upset. What's wrong, sis?"

"I'm nervous, Jase," she answered "I'm afraid Tommy's not going to like all the changes that have happened over the years. There's so much he doesn't know about yet and I'm really worried that he won't like the new me and that he'll run away as soon as he sees everything. Jason, I don't want to lose Tommy again. I can't lose Tommy again."

"Kim, you know as well as I do that Tommy cares about you too much to let something like this negatively affect your relationship. I can promise you that," I replied "You saw him for the first time since Murianthis last night but I've had to deal with this boy and his bullshit for ten years and every time we saw each other or talked to each other on the phone the first thing he did, right after saying 'hello,' was ask how you were doing. He cares about you more than I think you really understand. He loves you Kim and that's all that really matters in this situation. Just do the right thing and I guarantee that everything will work out for the best."

"I really don't think you understand how big of a deal this is," she snapped "This is something that could cause Tommy to walk away before we even get started."

"Don't take that tone with me Kimberly Ann," I quickly shot back "I have been there with you for everything. Now either you go on this date with Tommy and do what you know is right or I'll march back in the house right now and tell him myself. Which way do you want it, Kim?"

I heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the line as she thought about what the ultimatum I had just given her. She had never gotten over Tommy, just as he had never gotten over her, and I knew that if she didn't take this opportunity to fix things that it would never work out between the two of them.

"You're right, Jase," she finally muttered "I'll tell him after our date. I just...I mean..." she took another quick deep breath to calm herself down before continuing "If he's not okay with my lifestyle now then we're not meant to be together, I guess. I'm really sorry for snapping at you, Bubba."

I let out a small laugh at the nickname she had given me after we had all went our separate ways as teenagers. She had called her older brother "Bubba" when she was little because she couldn't pronounce the word "brother" and it simply carried over to our relationship. It fit well in the surrogate brother-sister relationship we shared with each other.

"It's okay, sis. I know you're just scared but I also know that you're going to do the right thing," I replied "Everything _will_ work out for the best. That's a promise."

"I hope you're right," she answered in an exasperated whisper "I need Tommy in my life, Jase."

"He needs you just as bad, Kimmy," I said as I turned towards the house and saw Tommy standing in the doorway. I knew he couldn't hear our conversation but I still didn't want to take the chance that he'd catch something. "Listen, I gotta go but I want you to call me as soon as everything's done, okay?"

"I will. You'll be the first to know after he leaves," she replied "Bye, Jase. I love you."

"I love you, too," I added "Talk to you later, Kim."

I quickly flipped my phone closed and shoved it back in my pocket as I started back up the driveway towards where Tommy was standing. At that moment he looked about as crappy as I felt and we were definitely feeling each other's pain.

"What was that about? Who was on the phone?" he asked as soon as I got within ear shot of him.

"Nothing. It was just Zack," I answered, quickly covering my tracks "He said to say hello and that hopefully he'll be able to come see us before the end of summer."

Tommy didn't look convinced but he knew better than to push me when I gave him an answer. He simply shrugged his shoulders in defeat and went back into the house as I closed the door behind us.

Adam and Rocky had woken up since I had gone outside and were now sitting on the couch, backs to the door, as they engaged in a heated debate over who was a better superhero between Batman and Superman.

"Dude, Superman has _powers_. Batman has a cape and gadgets," Rocky said loudly "Superman would work Batman in like two minutes, bro. The Caped Crusader is a good superhero, I'll give you that, but he stands no chance against The Man of Steel."

"You're wrong, man. Batman keeps Kryptonite in his utility belt," Adam returned "If Batman wanted to he could whip out that little green rock and kill Superman on the spot. Besides, Batman's gadgets are sweet! He's got so many things in that belt that Superman wouldn't know what to do with himself."

I chuckled to myself a little bit as I walked up to the couch and leaned in between them, catching the pair off guard a little.

"You know who could take them both?" I interrupted as they both rolled their eyes "The Red Ranger. That guy is such a true badass."

"Hey, Jase. I never knew you felt that way about me," Rocky replied with a grin "That means a lot coming from you."

"Shut up, Rocky," Tommy interjected "Everyone in this room knows that I was the best Red Ranger ever. You backed out of the Red Ranger mission so you don't even qualify for this discussion. If I recall correctly, you're Aunt Elvira was in town and you had to spend time with her, right?"

"Yeah, that was it," he muttered, trying to cover for himself.

"Too bad your Aunt Elvira died during the Reagan administration, dick," I interrupted with a chuckle, a wink towards Adam and a nudge towards Tommy "You just didn't want to get shown up by me and Tommy. I think that new kid could have taken you, Rock. What was his name again, Tommy? Cliff? Chris?"

"Cole," Tommy answered "Remember how he got all giddy when he saw you and me? He was like a little girl meeting Justin Timberlake. He made Rocky's crush on Jack Bauer look like puppy love."

"Speaking of Mr. Bauer, forget what I said about Superman," Rocky added with a grin. He knew we were just teasing him like he had teased us all before "Jack Bauer could take Batman out in a split-second. If everyone on _24_ listened to him the show would be called _12_ instead."

Adam, Tommy and myself all rolled our eyes as Rocky laughed out loud at what he thought was the funniest thing to ever come out of his mouth. Eventually, the four of us agreed that breakfast was in order, even though it was already almost noon. Tommy and Adam agreed to run interference in the kitchen since neither of them trusted Rocky or myself to prepare an edible meal which was probably a good thing. About twenty or thirty minutes later we all sat down to eat the pancakes, bacon and eggs that Tommy and Adam had prepared for us.

By the time we had finished our meal, it was almost one and Tommy was picking Kim up at seven. It was going to take at least an hour to get back to Angel Grove and I knew Tommy would never hear the end of it if he was late. I also knew that he had a lot of things to get done in a short amount of time so after everything had been cleaned up we said our goodbyes to Adam and Rocky, assuring them that we would get together again soon.

Almost as soon as we pulled back up to my place, Tommy jumped out of the car and sprinted towards the door. He looked dejected when he pulled on the locked door and realized he didn't have any keys. I laughed a little bit as I walked up to the door and let him in, watching my best friend with a smile as he began to run around frantically, trying to make everything as perfect for his date with Kim as possible.

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_Tommy's POV_

Driving to Kim's place to pick her up for our date that night was like something out of a really cheesy and romantic movie, the kind Kim had forced me to watch on numerous occasions when we were kids. The stars had come out early and there was a slight chill in the air which meant Kim would soon be wearing the jacket I had in the back seat along with the blanket that were covering up my big plan for the evening.

When I pulled up to her house in my Jeep I was expecting to go through all the processions of a great date; walking to the door, handing her the dozen pink roses I had bought her and possibly getting a tour of her new place but she was already outside, sitting on her porch swing when I pulled up. There was a black sedan in the driveway which caught me off guard since I had only seen Kim driving her truck but I just assumed it was a second vehicle, something more economical for everyday driving.

I quickly climbed out of the car, picking up the flowers from the passenger seat and walked towards her as she immediately came running towards me. It was a casual date and she had on jeans and a pink t-shirt but she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She smiled brightly as I handed her the flowers and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing inside to set them down.

Instinctively, I tried to follow her inside but found she had locked the door. I heard the creak of the door opening as Kim quickly slipped out and locked the door behind her with a smile.

"You ready to go?" she asked softly.

"I'd go anywhere with you, Beautiful," I replied, taking her hand in mine and leading her down the driveway to the Jeep.

Opening the passenger door, I again offered her my hand as she took it with a smile and climbed into the Jeep. I quickly ran around to the driver's side and hopped in, starting the car and then taking Kim's hand before driving off.

"Where are we going?" she asked as we pulled up to a red light "Are we going bowling?"

I slowly shook my head and reached into my pocket, pulling out a blindfold and handing it to Kim. She looked at it apprehensively and then turned towards me with a confused expression littering her beautiful face which I simply smiled at.

"Do you trust me, Kim?" I asked in a whisper and she nodded her head slowly "Good. Then put the blindfold on. I promise you you'll see soon enough. But I want this to be a surprise, okay?"

She nodded her head in agreement and let the cloth cover her eyes as I reached over to tie it, making sure it was tight and that she couldn't see anything. I quickly kissed her on the forehead as the light changed back to green and we continued on through the intersection.

"Tommy, will you please tell me what is going on?" she pleaded as I let out a small chuckle.

"Nope. If you don't want to do this, I'll turn around and take you home but if you want this date, we're gonna do it my way," I answered, laughing at the defeated exhale coming from the passenger side.

A few minutes later we had arrived at our destination and I quickly jumped out of the car, leading Kim to a small picnic table as I reminded her to keep the blindfold on while I ran back to the car. I grabbed everything out of the back seat and carried it back to where Kim was sitting.

I made sure that while I was setting up that I could see her so that I knew she wasn't peaking and then went to back to work, setting everything up. It took me about ten minutes to get everything organized before I walked back over to Kim and grabbed her hand, instructing her to let me lead her.

Slowly, I walked with her towards the blanket I had laid down and then stepped behind her to untie the knot. She was shivering a little so I grabbed the jacket off the blanket and wrapped it around her body as she let the warmth of the jacket relax her. I wanted to make the removal of the blindfold take as long as possible, just to add to dramatic effect to the surprise. After the knot was finally untied, I continued to hold the cloth against her eyes as I went down to both knees behind her.

"You ready?" I whispered into her ear.

"Yes," she answered quickly with a head nod so I let the blindfold go as I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my head on her shoulder. The gasp that came from her was enough to let me know that she was happy with what I had done.

We were at the lake, in "our spot" where we had spent so many nights together underneath the stars, basking in the enjoyment of each other's company. It only seemed fitting to me that after all these years, we were going to start everything over, in the same spot that it had really all began.

"Do you like it, Kim?" I asked softly, kissing her on the cheek.

"Tommy, I love it. This is so beautiful," she replied, turning her head to kiss me.

I had gone all out for this date and her reaction made it all worth it. The big blanket was laid out on the beach with a small CD player off to the side. A handful of lit candles surrounded the blanket and there was also a picnic basket and a big white teddy bear with a red heart in its hands that sat in the center of the ensemble I had created.

"Is this for me?" she asked as she picked up the teddy bear and squeezed it tightly against her body.

"Yep," I answered softly "A cute gift for my beautiful girlfriend. You're so gorgeous even the bear looks better in your arms."

"You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble, Tommy," she said with a slight smirk "I would have been just fine with going bowling."

"I know that, but I wouldn't have been," I replied " I wanted our first night out together as a couple again to be extra special, that's all."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes as Kim allowed everything around her to sink in. I just sat back and smiled as she became more and more flustered with everything I had done.

"I made dinner for us but it's nothing fancy. Are you okay with this?" I asked as reached into the insulated basket and pulled out two plates covered in saran wrap.

I reached back into the basket and pulled out a bottle of very expensive red wine to go with the chicken marsala, green beans, mashed potatoes and homemade dinner rolls I had made just before leaving the house. I dished out some silverware and then pulled out two wine glasses as I popped the bottle and filled them for us before reaching over and turning on the CD player. It was a mixed CD with songs I knew Kim would like and that I could tolerate and the smile on her face told the whole story as "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill began to play,

"Tommy, this is so amazing. It's absolutely perfect," she muttered as a tear came into her eye "I don't deserve all this. You are such an amazing man and I can't believe how lucky I am that you still feel this way about me after everything that happened between us. I just…I want you to know how much you mean to me, Tommy."

"Kim, I don't care about the past. What's done is done, okay? I want to live in the present, with you by my side," I answered "I did this because I care about you and because you are a very important part of my life. I'm just glad you like it."

"I don't like it, Tommy," she muttered, smiling at the look of shock I knew I was wearing "I love it. It's incredible, just like you."

I smiled brightly as I leaned in to kiss her, our lips meeting each other in a soft embrace. She pulled back a few seconds later, biting her lip in a way that would make any man go nuts.

"I've been wanting to do that for a long time," I said with a grin. It was the same thing I had said to her after our very first kiss which occurred just a few hundred feet from where we were now.

"Me too," she replied simply as we re-lived the moment together.

I stared back at her with a grin but I just had to kiss her again so I did, this time with more passion as our lips again met with each others, our mouths opening and closing quickly, tongues trying to search for one another until they found what they were looking for.

It was a perfect moment and I couldn't help but smile at the redness in Kim's face as we pulled apart. The kiss had flushed her a little bit and I knew I had done my job.

"Wow, you really have gotten better," she murmured, reaching out for me again.

We went back and forth like that for a while until I made note of the fact that our dinner was going to quickly get cold if we didn't eat it soon. Kimberly muttered something about just wanting dessert but I insisted that we eat the meal that I had prepared even if, deep down, I wanted to eat it less than she did.

I refilled our glasses with the red liquid, smiling the whole time and occasionally stealing quick kisses with Kim as we our dinner. We spent the next fifteen minutes or so playing more catch-up with her and I filling each other in on as much as we could. It had been ten years since I had seen her and there was still a lot I didn't know about and the same went for her as well.

I was so happy as we ate, drank and laughed with each other. I was flying higher than Cloud Nine, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. It was something that immediately took me to Cloud Negative Fourteen and put sickening knots into my stomach.

About halfway through the meal, Kimberly's mood had suddenly changed at the realization that the evening was almost over. As "I Do (Cherish You)" by 98 Degrees played softly in the background I reached out for her hands but she quickly pulled away and lowered her head. I reached out again, this time for her chin as I puller her head back up and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Kim, sweetie, what's wrong?" I asked with nothing but love and concern in my voice.

"Tommy, I have to be honest with you here and now," she answered with a hint of fear mixed with sadness "I have another person in my life. He's so important to me and I want you to meet him tonight."

Was she serious? Had I really just gone through all this to find out she had another man in her life? I couldn't believe it when the words escaped her lips. I tried to reply but it took me a while until I could finally find the words I was looking for.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I finally managed, the shock still not wearing off "You have another guy in your life? I can't believe this, Kim. Why didn't you tell me this before? I thought you really wanted to give us a second chance."

"I do, Tommy but I'm not willing to go any further in our relationship until you meet him which is why I had to tell you this tonight," she muttered "But I have to know something and I want an honest answer from you. Do you trust me, Tommy?"

I looked at her with tears in my eyes, not knowing what to do or say. She had thrown this at me so fast and I really didn't know how to react.

"I don't know, Kim. I thought I did," I answered "I don't understand how you can want to be with me if you have another guy in your life. This just doesn't make any sense to me."

"I don't expect it to make sense right now but I hope that it will soon enough. And your answer was good enough for me, I guess. All I really want is for you to have faith in me and what I'm telling you," she said quietly "This has been an amazing evening and I want you to know that I would never, ever do anything to hurt you again. I'm going to ask you to trust me for _our_ sake. Not mine, not yours, _ours_. Now let's get this cleaned up and go back to my place. I promise everything will make more sense then. If you still are mad after tonight, I swear to God that I'll never bother you again."

This strange turn of events was something I definitely hadn't planned on. I wanted to say no and end everything right then and there but something in my head that I still can't explain was telling me to go with her so I nodded my head and stood up, slowly putting the contents from our half-eaten meal back in the basket.

With Kim's help it took half the setup time to get everything packed back up and loaded into my Jeep. After agreeing to go with her I hadn't said a word to her as we climbed into the vehicle and drove away to meet whatever sick and twisted meeting I was about to have.

The car ride back to Kim's house was awkward to say the least. We hit almost every red light on the way which made what should have been a quick fifteen minute drive take almost thirty minutes. As each moment passed, I could feel my blood begin to boil but somehow I managed to keep my emotions under wrap at least until I saw what Kimberly wanted me to see. After that, all bets were off on how I was going to react.

She had tried to take my hand a couple times on the way back but every time she reached, I pulled back. I could tell my actions were upsetting her but I really didn't care. I felt betrayed and used but that voice in my head kept telling me to go along with whatever she had planned.

Eventually, we made it back to her house, the same one her parents used to own when she was a child. She had told me during dinner that she had bought if from the same people who had purchased it from her mother before she moved to Paris. We climbed out of the car in silence as she led the way to her house, opening the door and closing it quietly behind us.

I didn't even pay attention to anything in the house except for the fact that there was a blonde girl, maybe nineteen or twenty, sitting alone on the couch in the living room. As Kim greeted the younger woman I simply stood there with my hands in my pockets, slowly shaking my head. I figured she was a roommate of Kim's. It was the only logical explanation I could come up with at the time.

"Where's Nathan?" I heard Kim ask as the blonde girl pointed to the stairs and Kim turned towards me "Tommy, this is Jessica. Jessica, this is my friend Tommy. Why don't you guys get acquainted and I'll be back down in a minute, okay?"

I nodded my head as my body went into auto pilot mode. I allowed my feet to take me to the love seat that sat across from where Jessica and the couch she was occupying.

"So you're the famous Tommy?" she asked as she extended her hand which I quickly took, simply out of the respect for women my parents had instilled in me "I've heard so many wonderful things about you. Kim talks about you almost non-stop. All day she has been talking about how much she wants you to meet Nathan."

"Yeah. She told me at the park on our _date_," I grumbled, making sure to emphasize the word "date."

Jessica looked at me with a look of confusion, apparently wondering why I had felt the need to make a big deal about the fact that Kim and I had been on a date. We both fell silent for a few minutes until I heard her clear her throat loudly.

"You'll like Nathan," she said quickly, trying to avoid the awkward silence that had come over the room.

"Yeah, sure," I replied as I heard two sets of footsteps come down the stairs.

I managed to hear Kim whispering something to the person she was with and then she came back into sight, holding the hand of her companion. To say I was shocked would be the understatement of all time. She had a little boy with her who was maybe three years old, four tops and he looked just as nervous as Kim did.

"Nathan, this is my friend Tommy that I told you about," she said softly, turning her eyes toward me "Tommy, this is Nathan."

I looked at the little boy and put on my best smile for him which he quickly returned. Slowly, my eyes met Kimberly's and I could see that they were again filled with tears.

"Kim, is this..." I began to ask but she interrupted me before I could finish.

"The other person in my life that I was telling you about?" she asked "Yes, Tommy it is. I'm sorry I wasn't more forthcoming with you but I wanted you to see for yourself without having any preconceived notions of everything. I hope you forgive me but if you don't, I understand. I care about you so much and I just really wanted you to meet my son."

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_Hopefully that surprised you all at least a little bit. Sorry if the whole thing from Jason's POV threw off the story but I wanted to do a little bit of potential foreshadowing and I really hope that you all liked this chapter. Let me know what you think!_

_-WK_


	6. I Scream, You Scream

I had thought the young boy in front of me was three or maybe four. I'd find out later that Kim's son was actually five. Wait a second, Kim had a son?

Kim had a son. Kim had a son. The thought played back through my head constantly as I struggled with the sight of her child in front of me. I don't know if I was holding on to the naïve hope that I was going to be the one to give Kim children or not but seeing that Kim indeed had a son brought tears to my eyes.

I still don't know if they were happy tears or sad tears, just that they were there and that I didn't know how to react. I looked at Jessica who I now realized was probably a babysitter and not a roommate and saw that she was trying to conceal a grin apparently caused by my lack of activity.

Turning my eyes from the young blonde girl, I looked over at where Kim's son had been standing. He was hiding nervously behind his mom's legs, peeking his head out just far enough so that he could keep an eye on me. My eyes found Kim's next and I gave her a small smile which she returned, albeit hesitantly. It was like she was trying to gauge my reaction even though I hadn't physically given one yet.

I waved to the little boy and smiled at him as he returned both of the gestures. His smile was partly toothless and I couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at how carefree and innocent he appeared clutching his mom with one arm and waving with the other. After a few seconds of exchanging waves and smiles with him, I slowly looked back up at Kimberly.

"Kim, can we talk please?" I asked with pleading eyes "Maybe go outside or something."

She nodded her head slowly and then got on her knees in front of Nathan. She whispered something to him that I couldn't make out and then patted him on the back as he ran up the stairs.

Kim walked over to Jessica and slipped her a couple bills and gave her a hug before opening the door for her to leave. She closed the door quietly and walked over to where Jessica had been sitting, leaving me alone on the small loveseat.

"I don't want to leave Nathan inside alone. Is this private enough?" she asked quietly.

I nodded my head but I didn't like the separation between us so I got up and quickly moved next to Kim which caught her off guard a little. She had tears running down her face so I reached out towards her, gently wiping them away with the back of my hand.

She quickly stood up and tried to walk away but I grabbed her wrist and spun her back towards me. Instead of trying to speak I just stood up and wrapped my arms around her tightly, holding her closely and letting her cry into my shoulder.

We stayed that way for at least five minutes and I would have held onto her for longer but Kim had run out of tears to cry so we moved back to the couch. We both sat cross-legged, looking right at each other as I took her hands in my own.

"Kim, I really don't even know where to begin. This whole turn of events has been so shocking. I mean, I had no idea that you had a son," I began "I'm not saying I want to run away and leave you but this does change things, Beautiful. There are a lot of things we need to talk about but I know you understand that as well as I do."

"I know that. And I want you to know how sorry I am that I just didn't tell you about all of this from the get-go. I was just afraid that you'd see Nathan and go running off like all the other guys I've dated," she said in a whisper.

"Well, I'm not like all the other guys and you definitely don't see me running," I returned "I can't promise you that I'm suddenly going to become like a father to him, Kim, but he's a big part of your life and I'm willing to work on things if it means I can have a part in your life too."

Slowly, she nodded her head and smiled. Not a smile like the quick and nervous grin she had sent me earlier, either. It was a genuine and bright smile that only could come from a woman as beautiful as Kimberly and it made my heart melt.

"Tell me about him, Kim. I want to know about you and him and everything else," I continued as she nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning then. I met his dad, Alex, in Florida around October of 2000. I was almost 22," she began "I was on my way home one day and my car got a flat so I had to pull off the road that I was on. I didn't have a cell phone and I waited for almost an hour until Alex showed up and stopped to help me. He called a tow truck for me and rode with me to the get everything fixed. He was so sweet that day and afterwards, he insisted on buying me dinner so I agreed. I hadn't been on a real date in years and I had missed having a male companion in my life."

I nodded my head slowly, listening to everything as I prepared myself mentally for what I knew was coming shortly. Just the thought of her with another man put knots in my stomach but I was trying to keep an open mind.

"Nothing really major happened at dinner that night but he was a sweet guy and so we went out a few more times. I think he reminded me so much of you that I just grew, not more attracted, but more accustomed to him as time went on. A few months after we started dating, we moved in together," she continued "It took a long time for me to feel comfortable enough to get serious with him and it was almost a year after we moved in together before I finally slept with him. About a month or so later I started feeling weird so I went to the doctor and that's when I found out I was pregnant. It's also when Alex broke it off with me. He told me he'd pay child support but that he wanted no part in raising a child. We got into a huge yelling match when I came home from the doctor and I basically told him that if he wasn't willing to physically be a part of his child's life that I didn't want monetary support from him at all. That was in November of 2000. On May 19th of 2001, I had Nathan."

"Wow," I muttered sheepishly. It was all I could manage.

"Yeah, wow. I haven't seen Alex in almost five years and he's never once tried to make any sort of contact with me or his son. I came back to Angel Grove when his dad and I broke up. Trini helped me a lot when I came home, so did Jason," she continued as the tears returned to her eyes "I wanted to find you when I came home but you were in Reefside and I didn't think you'd want anything to do with me, not to mention my son. Jason's been the closest thing he's had to a father but even then, he's only over sporadically and it's hard on Nathan not to have that male figure in his life consistently.

"Is that why Jason was so weird when we were hanging out?" I asked as his outbursts and mood swings played back in my head.

"Yeah, he's been mad at me for years for never telling you about Nathan. I guess he knew all along that you wouldn't care and that you'd try to understand and be supportive. That's why I came over the other night because I wanted to talk to you but I guess things got out of hand between the drinking and everything else. That's also why he was sort of angry that we hadn't talked about it the next day either which is why he snapped a little," she answered "I just feel like I've failed him by having a child before I was ready. I mean, it wasn't like I had him in high school or anything but I still wasn't at all prepared for it."

I reached our for her hands again, giving her a reassuring smile and stroking her hands softly with my thumbs. It surprised us both a little bit when I leaned in to kiss her.

"Kim, I'm sure you aren't failing your son. You've got a nice home, you work hard, you love him and it seems like you take really good care of him. I don't think that there's a whole lot more you can do besides that," I replied "You are an amazing person and if your skills as a mom are a reflection of how you are as a person, then I'm sure your son will turn out to be just as great of a person as his mother is."

"I'm not a great person. If I was I wouldn't have been so irresponsible" she asked sheepishly with a hint of embarrassment in her voice "Alex was the first person I ever slept with and I thought he really cared about me. You can't really think that I'm a good person, Tommy."

"Yeah, Kim, I do," I replied as I leaned in again, this time kissing her softly on the forehead "If I didn't, I'd tell you what I thought. You know me better than everyone but Jason. Have I ever backed down from telling anyone how I felt about them, good or bad?"

"Well, it took a lot of poking and prodding from Jason and Zack to get you to ask me out, didn't it?" she shot back with a sly smirk.

"That's only because you are so beautiful and I didn't think I'd ever be good enough for someone as amazing as you," I returned "I still want to be a part of your life, and Nathan's, if you still think that want to have me in it, Kim."

As soon as the words escaped my mouth I saw her expression do a complete turnaround.

"Do you think you might want to talk to him for a little bit? I've been talking about you non-stop since I got home yesterday and he really wants to meet you," Kim asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I do. I think I'd like that a lot," I answered softly, returning the smile she had just given me.

"Okay, I'll go back upstairs and grab him. There's soda and bottled water in the fridge. I think there might be a beer or two in there somewhere too," she replied "Make yourself at home while I go talk to Nathan, okay?"

I nodded my head in understanding and then hopped off the couch for the refrigerator. It was a toss-up between beer, soda or water but eventually I compromised for two of the choices and settled on a can of root beer.

I went back into the living room and waited for a few minutes, taking occasional sips from the can, until I heard footsteps again. Kim was now carrying Nathan and she sat down next to where I was on the couch. I smiled at the boy and stuck out my hand to see if he would take it but he didn't.

"Nathan Thomas Hart you shake Tommy's hand. He's just being nice to you," she commanded as the boy obediently extended his hand and shook mine.

"So your middle name is Thomas, huh? That's my first name, buddy. It's a pretty cool name to have if you ask me," I said with a grin as Kimberly nodded her head at my sudden revelation.

I was genuinely touched that she had given her son my name as his middle name, especially considering we hadn't really spoken or seen each other for something like five or six years when he was born.

"Mommy told Jessica you're a very sexy man," Nathan said with a serious expression that caused Kim to blush and me to burst out laughing.

"Your mom was just being a nice lady. So tell me some things about you, Nathan. Like…what's your favorite color?" I asked as he thought about it for a second.

"Um…mom says I'm partial to white but I don't know what partial means," he answered and then perked up "But green's really my favorite. All my favorite shirts are green, like this one."

He pulled on the shirt, showing me the green and orange Miami Hurricanes tee-shirt that he was wearing.

"Green's one of my favorite colors too, pal. It's a pretty cool color, huh?" I asked, trying to get a feel for the child.

He nodded his head excitedly and then hopped off Kim's lap. He threw his arms in the air, bringing them up and down and started marching around yelling "Go 'Canes! Go 'Canes!"

I looked over at Kim who simply shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"He never even knew what Florida looked like. One of my friends from the Pan Global Team sent the shirt for him for his birthday last month and now he wears it non-stop. He says he wants to play football at Miami when he's bigger," she said as she turned towards her son, clapping and cheering for him.

Nathan's aspirations to play football gave me an idea. I climbed off the couch and got on my knees, looking at Nathan who had stopped cheering and was staring back at me.

"Your mom says you want to play football?" I asked as he nodded his head "Then show me what you would do to me if I had the ball. Can you do that?"

He looked at his mom for approval and she just nodded her head. She knew what I was going to get but I had no idea. Little Nathan, all four-and-a-half feet and fifty pounds of him came barreling into me like a truck, knocking me onto my back.

It didn't hurt but it had definitely caught me off guard. Nathan was laying on top of me so I flipped him over on to his back and started tickling his sides. He started laughing and squealing as my fingers poked at his ribs.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders and was quickly thrown back down against the floor. Kim was standing over the top of me with a huge grin, dusting off her hands.

"My turn, sweetie," she muttered "Come on Nathan let's get Tommy."

The mother-son tandem pounced on me, Kim pinning my arms down while Nathan started in on applying the same torture I had given him moments earlier. If I really had wanted to I could have fought back and gotten free but I was having too much fun with them.

Then Kim let go of my arms and Nathan saw that I was free to go back after him so he got up and quickly started running down the hall. I chased after him and grabbed him just before he could get into the safety of the bathroom.

Quickly scooping him up, I held him out and made airplane noises as I "flew" him back to where Kimberly was waiting while he laughed and cheered the whole way. As I got to where Kimberly was waiting with outstretched arms, I acted like I was going to hand him off and then I took off in the other direction.

We did a couple laps around the kitchen and living room until my arms started getting sore and I gave him back to Kim. With her son in her arms, I reached in to kiss her but he put his hand over her lips, blocking mine from meeting hers.

"You can't kiss mommy. Only I can kiss mommy," he said sternly.

"Why's that, buddy?" I asked with a smile. Even at four years old he was just as protective of Kim as I had been when we were kids.

"Because you have to love some one to kiss them," he said matter-of-factly.

I went to say something back but Kim took a hand away from Nathan's waist to stop me. She smiled and then looked back at her son.

"Nathan, Tommy is a very special and important person to me so he gets to kiss me all he wants. Remember how I said sometimes it's okay to change rules if no one gets hurt?" she asked as he nodded his head "This is one of those times."

We both looked at Nathan, waiting for some kind of reaction or acceptance of Kim's words but he was still in disagreement.

"That's what you said about that guy with the smelly pants and then he made you cry. I don't want you to cry again mommy," he replied, firmly set in the belief that I would do something to hurt Kim.

"Hey Nathan, how about I do something to prove that I won't make your mom cry and that I really care about her?" I asked, noticing that I now had his full attention "I really like kissing your mommy so what can I do for you so you'll let me kiss her?"

He thought about it for a minute and then his eyes lit up. His smile grew wide as the proverbial light bulb went off over his head.

"You have to take us for ice cream. Then you can kiss mommy," he answered.

Kim and I both laughed at the innocence and naïveté of the little boy. I had forgotten how easy I was to please when I was a kid and Kim's love for ice cream had apparently been passed on to her son.

"Okay then Nathan. We're going to make a deal, okay? We're gonna get in my car and go get ice cream. After that I can kiss your mom. Is that a deal?" I asked as I stuck out my hand.

"Deal," he agreed as he spit into his hand and shook mine.

Kim looked embarrassed at the spit shake but I just laughed it off. I took my hand back and then spit into it before grabbing his hand again.

"There, we did a spit shake so neither of us can break the deal," I said "Now let's go get that ice cream. Last one to the car is a rotten egg."

Kim set Nathan down and we both took off running for the door. I let Nathan get ahead of me so I could fall back with Kim who was nothing but smiles. I pulled her close to me and whispered into her ear as she looked up at me.

"Why?" she asked in confusion.

"Just trust me. I think that it'll help Nathan to maybe trust me a little more," I answered reassuringly "Does he need a car seat or anything like that?"

"Yeah. It's in the back of my truck. Let me go grab it from the garage and then I'll meet you back out here, okay?" she replied as I nodded my head in agreement.

When she came back a few minutes later, Nathan and I were running across the lawn, him chasing me as I stayed just far enough ahead to maintain his interest in the game. I let him get within a few inches of grabbing me and then I did a back flip over him, landing softly on the wet grass. He turned around and looked at me in shock before turning his eyes to where Kimberly was standing and smiling.

"Mommy did you see that? He did a flip! I thought only Uncle Jason could do those," he said excitedly and then looked at me "Mr. Tommy you don't have to buy me ice cream. You can kiss my mom all you want."

"Thanks, buddy but we made a deal remember. We did a spit shake and everything. I have to keep my promise," I replied as he smiled and nodded his head in understanding.

Then Kim came over and lifted him up as she carried him towards the car. I grabbed the car seat off the driveway and unlocked the car, setting the car seat down on the backseat. It only took Kim a few minutes to get him all buckled in and situated before we were all in the car and on our way.

"So where's a good place to get ice cream, Nathan?" I asked, turning to look at him in the backseat.

"Mom takes me to the 31 place but when it's really special we go to Ernie's," he asked "Can we go to Ernie's, Tommy? Please?"

"Ernie's huh? I didn't even know he still had the place," I said, turning my attention to Kim "He sold it to Lieutenant Stone after you moved. Did he buy it back or something."

"Yeah. He came back from his tour of duty a couple years ago and bought it back from Jerome. He said he couldn't stay away from the place for very long," she replied.

"Hey Nathan, did you know your mom and I used to go there almost everyday when we were kids?" I asked the boy "Ernie used to make the best smoothies and juice in town when I lived here."

"He still does. But I think his ice cream is better," Nathan replied "Can I get strawberry with em-em-em's? Em-em-em's are my favorite."

"I think that's okay. What do you think, Kim?" I asked as she nodded her head and said that it would be okay.

"But just this once because it's a special night, Nathan. I don't want you to get used to Tommy spoiling you like this," she said sternly.

"You're mom's right, little man," I replied with a grin "I can't spoil you all the time. Especially not if I'm going to be hanging out with you guys _all the time_."

Kim's eyes grew wide as I put the emphasis on the last three words. I knew that everything was still fresh and that there would be a lot of stuff to work out but I liked spending time with Kim and Nathan was quickly rubbing off on me as well. I could see that she was happy that I had made the decision to stay around and I let my hand find hers. She looked back at me and smiled, blinking away the tears of happiness that were slowly filling her eyes.

As we came to a stop light I looked back at Kim and slowly nodded my head, signaling to put my little plan into action. She nodded back and reached over, grabbing my head as she leaned in to kiss me. I quickly pulled back and pointed a stern finger at her, wagging it back and forth as she tried not to laugh.

"Kim, remember my deal with Nathan? No kissing until after ice cream. We don't break promises right, Nathan?" I asked, sticking my hand our for a high-five which he returned.

"Mommy, I really like Tommy. He doesn't have smelly pants and he doesn't make you cry," he said happily.

"I know, Nathan. I like him a lot too. Especially because he doesn't have smelly pants," she replied, reaching back and gently tickling Nathan in his car seat.

A few minutes later we had pulled up to the old familiar hangout and I noticed that not much had changed. In fact, I couldn't see anything that had changed except the addition of a few extra parking spaces.

Kim hopped out of the Jeep and then unbuckled Nathan, lifting him from the car seat and setting him down next to her. Together, we walked towards the Youth Center. The lights were dim and I thought that Ernie might have been closed down for the night already but the door was unlocked so we let ourselves in. As we entered the main room, Ernie was behind the counter with his back turned to us, bent over the sink and washing a stack of cups.

"Sorry guys, but we're closed for the night," he said, not bothering to turn around.

"Well, do you think you could make an exception for a couple old friends?" I asked as his back immediately went straight.

I heard him mutter something like "there's no way" before he turned around to look at us.

"Tommy!" he said excitedly as he came over to where we were standing.

He opened his arms and I immediately gave him a hug. He had lost a considerable amount of weight since the last time I had seen him and his hair had definitely gotten grayer but other than that he was the same guy I had grown up with. We broke the hug a few seconds later as he turned and gave Kimberly a hug and then got down on a knee in front of Nathan.

"How's my favorite little man doing?" he asked with a smile, turning his palm upside down as Nathan slapped it "Ouch. Since when did you learn to hit so hard? Tommy, have you been teaching him some of your moves?"

Ernie pretended like the high-five had hurt and he rubbed his hand while Nathan giggled at him. He smiled brightly as he turned back towards us and offered us a seat at the counter.

"So what can I get you guys? Wait, let me try and remember. Tommy you always got a strawberry-banana smoothie and Kim, you were a raspberry with orange juice smoothie if I'm not mistaken," he said, thinking back on our youth.

Kim and I both looked at each other and smiled. Neither of us had any idea how Ernie could still remember that after all the years that we had been away.

"Yeah, that's right. But tonight's an ice cream night, I think. Nathan here tells me you have the best ice cream in Angel Grove," I answered as Ernie beamed with pride "Nathan wants strawberry with M & M's and I'll take two scoops of chocolate in a waffle cone, please. How about you, Kim?"

"I think I'll just steal a few licks off yours, if that's okay," she replied but I quickly shook my head.

"Uh-uh, no way. You'll end up taking most of it of it just like you used to do when we were kids," I returned with a grin "Why don't you just make it two of those, Ernie."

"Tommy, I do _not_ need two scoops of chocolate ice cream. Just make mine a single, Ernie. Thanks."

Ernie nodded his head and went to work on scooping the ice cream. I looked at Kim and we both chuckled a little when Ernie made sure to put a couple extra spoonfuls of the candy into Nathan's cup. A few minutes later and we were all sitting there, happily eating our ice cream while Ernie sipped on a smoothie he had stationed behind the counter

"What do I owe you for the ice cream, Ernie?" I asked as I reached towards my back pocket for my wallet.

"Nothing," he answered with a wave of his hand "I wouldn't feel right charging you guys after all these years."

"Are you sure? I don't mind paying," I replied but he shook his head and waved me off again so I conceded and thanked him for his generosity.

"So what brings you in to town, Tommy?" he asked, his eyes fluttering towards Kimberly "I haven't seen you since you were in high school."

"Yeah, I actually came down from Reefside to visit Jason for a little while. He brought Kim over a couple nights ago and here we are," I replied.

"Reefside, huh? Didn't they have Power Rangers there?" he asked slyly.

"Power Rangers are the coolest!" Nathan interrupted "I'm gonna be one when I grow up after I play football. I want to be the Green Ranger, he's the coolest."

Us adults looked at Nathan and laughed. His dreams for adulthood were becoming more and more complex and detailed as the evening went on.

"Yeah, Reefside had Power Rangers. But they _definitely_ weren't as cool as the ones Angel Grove had," I replied, shooting a quick wink towards Kimberly "I always thought the pink one looked so hot in that spandex outfit of hers."

Kim blushed a little bit as Ernie came from behind the counter and then walked over to the door to lock it. He grabbed the remote off the counter, turning on a big screen television that hadn't been there when we were kids and then handed Nathan a small black controller.

"Hey, Nathan why don't you play some video games. I got this new cool one that no one's played yet and I want you to be the first one to test it out," he said with a smile "I need to talk to your mom and Tommy in private for a minute. Is that okay with all of you?"

I looked at Kim and she nodded her head, as did Nathan so I agreed with them. Ernie took Nathan over to the couch and got him all set up before returning to where we were and instructing us to follow him into the back room. Kim and I looked at each other apprehensively and then slowly followed him into the room that was also his office.

He walked over to the corner and moved some boxes around until he found the one he was looking for. Setting it down on his desk, he opened it up and gestured for Kim and I to look at the contents of the container. It was filled with newspaper clippings and pictures not only of the Power Rangers but of us and all of our friends as well. There were pictures of all of us up until we transferred the Turbo Powers to TJ and his friends. One of the pictures caught my eye and with Ernie's back to us I quickly grabbed it and tucked it away in my jean shorts.

"Ernie…" I muttered but he held up his hand to stop me.

"Guys, I've known for a long time. Between the constant disappearing act and the fact that you guys never hung out with anyone but each other, it wasn't all that hard to figure out," he interjected with another sly grin.

"How long have you known?" Kim asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Well, I really thought I knew for sure when the Green Ranger disappeared because Tommy was nowhere to be seen either. Then he came back all of a sudden and so did the White Ranger," he replied "Tommy always wore green and then it changed to white out of nowhere and I kinda just put two and two together I guess."

"Ernie…" I tried but he again held up his hand to prevent me from speaking.

"Tommy, if I had wanted to benefit from knowing this, I would have done it a long time ago. I have no use in letting your secret out, especially not after everything you guys have done for me and this whole town," he said quietly "I promise you guys that your secret is safe with me. I won't tell a soul as long as I live, that's a promise.'

"Ernie," I began, waiting for him to interrupt again but he didn't "Thank you."

He looked at me with a confused look on his face, not really knowing why I had thanked him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For everything. You gave us all a place where we felt accepted. If we were having problems at home or in school you were always there to offer us a safe place to hang out and didn't judge us," I replied "And I'm not worried about you telling anyone. The fact that you have known about us for this long and haven't said anything lets me know that our little secret is in good hands."

He smiled brightly and then went back to where the box was sitting on his desk. He found a roll of tape and sealed the box shut, picking it up and extending it towards me.

"Here. I kept these for you guys so you'd have something to look back on when you're all old like me," he began "Between you two and Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Kat, Tanya and Justin you all have made my life more fulfilling then it would have been if I hadn't had the privilege and honor of meeting such a fine and respectable group of young people."

Kim had tears in her eyes as I slowly took the box from Ernie and tucked it underneath my arm. I could tell Kim was losing it but before any of us could say anything she had thrown her arms around Ernie's neck and was hugging him tightly. He was taken aback for a second but quickly returned the embrace, patting Kim on the back and smiling at me.

They broke the embrace as Kim slowly stepped back to my side, squeezing my hand tightly. Now Ernie had tears in his eyes and he suddenly looked like he just wanted to be alone to let things sink in.

"You guys go on and get out of here, okay? It's getting late and I'm sure Nathan's waiting for you. Besides, I still have a lot of work to do to get this place closed before I can go home," he said softly, pointing towards the door.

Kim and I looked at each other and nodded our heads. I extended my hand and Ernie took it with a smile as we said goodbye and stepped back into the main room. Kim quickly walked over to where Nathan was sitting and scooped him up, carrying him back towards where I was waiting.

She made sure that Nathan threw his cup and plastic spoon away before we turned to leave. Just as we reached the door I stuck my hand in my pocket and realized I had forgotten something. I told Kim I would be right back and then went back to the counter.

I pulled a small rectangular piece of paper out of my pocket and set it softly on the counter. To anyone else it wasn't anything special but I knew it would mean the world to Ernie. Whenever he decided to come out of his office, he would find a picture of Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Kim and myself. It was a candid shot of all of us right after I came back as the White Ranger but the special thing about the picture was we were all lined up in a row with Ernie behind us, his arms around Jason and I.

Smiling to myself, I tapped my knuckles softly against the counter and then turned away, wiping a tear from my eye as I found Kim and Nathan. They were waiting outside and I stepped behind Nathan, picking him up and swinging him around.

"Did you like your ice cream, pal?" I asked as I laughed at his strawberry stained face.

"Yep. Thanks, Tommy," he answered "Now you can kiss mommy as much as you want. Spit shake, 'member?"

"You sure? I won't do it if it grosses you out or if you don't want me to," I replied.

"I'm sure. We keep our promises, like you told me," he said with a smile.

"Okay, kiddo. You asked for it then," I returned, setting him down and grabbing Kimberly around the waist.

I spun her around and laid her back a little bit before bending down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and we continued to kiss until Nathan groaned in the background. We broke the kiss and then looked at Nathan who had his hands over his eyes.

"What's the matter? You said Tommy could kiss me now," Kim said with a smile.

"I know. It's just weird. You never look this happy, mom," he answered sheepishly.

"Well Tommy makes mom happy. Really happy," she replied softly.

"He makes me happy too. He does back flips and buys me ice cream and he's really nice to me. Smelly pants was never nice to me," he added happily as I let out a small chuckle.

"You're gonna have to tell me about 'smelly pants' you know that, right?" I muttered to Kim who had an embarrassed look on her face but she just smiled and nodded as she walked over to Nathan.

"Come on, little man," she groaned, lifting him into the air "You're gonna have to lay off the ice cream or mommy's not gonna be able to carry you any more."

"That's okay because Tommy can carry me right, Tommy?" he asked with bright eyes and a brighter smile.

"Yeah, I think I can handle you," I replied as Kim buckled him into the car seat.

I opened her door for her as she climbed into the Jeep and then ran back around to my side, hopping in as well. We laughed and joked the whole way home as I occasionally leaned in for quick kisses which never ceased to make Nathan groan. Even though I definitely hadn't planned on all of this stuff happening, the evening had still gone perfectly, just as I had hoped it would.

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_Alright, so that concludes Chapter Six. I was on YouTube the other day and I came across a pretty cool video that I found. It's acutally like six or seven but together they make up like an hour long interview with Jason Frank. It's pretty recent I think and the stuff he talks about is not only hilarious but it gives you an insight into what went on with the show. I just typed in "Jason David Frank" in the box on YouTube and it came up. It's called "AFO Interview" and it's the ninth one down. Check it out if you want and be sure to review and let me know what you think. Until next time, take care guys._

_-WK  
_


	7. Picking Up Where We Left Off

The three of us walked up Kim's driveway slowly, my arm around Kim's waist and her hand holding on to Nathan's. To any random passerby we would have looked like a happy family that had spent many a year together but, as much as I wished things had already gone that direction for us, they hadn't. But looking at my girlfriend and her son and how happy they looked, made me realize that I was okay with the way everything was happening.

By the time we got in the house it was close to midnight and Nathan looked like he was ready to collapse as soon as he found something soft to land on. He put his arms up over his head and let out an exhausted yawn that caused me to let out one of my own.

"Oh don't tell me _you're_ giving up on me too, Tommy," Kim said teasingly.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Beautiful," I answered, leaning down for a quick kiss.

"Good," Kim replied, biting her lip and then looking at Nathan "Alright big guy it's time for bed. Why don't you say goodbye to Tommy and then go get your PJ's on. Mommy will be upstairs in a minute to tuck you in."

"Mommy, can I say bye to Tommy alone?" he asked quietly.

Kim looked at me as if to ask if it was okay and I quickly nodded my head that it was. She said okay and then disappeared up the stairs. Just to make sure Kim was out of earshot I picked Nathan up and carried him over to the couch, letting him sit on my knee.

"What's on your mind, little man?" I asked as he looked at me in confusion "I mean what's up?"

"Oh, nothing. What's up with you?" he asked back as I let out a chuckle.

"Not much over here either," I answered "So what did you wanna talk about that your mom couldn't here us saying?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I like you. Mom never brings home nice people like you," was his response and I was genuinely touched "But if you make mommy cry I'm gonna be really mad and we won't be friends anymore."

"I promise, Nathan. I will do my best not to make your mom cry. I really, really like your mom and I care about her a lot," I replied "But I really, really like you, too. And I don't want to hurt your feelings either. Does that make sense?"

He nodded his head and gave me a thumbs up along with his partially toothless grin. Then he threw his arms around my neck and gave me a hug. I didn't really know how to react so I just softly patted his back until he let go of me.

"Night, Tommy," he said as he hopped off my lap "I'll send mom out for you."

"Thanks, Nathan," I answered "Have a good night and sleep well."

I heard him yell "I will" as he disappeared up the stairs to where his mom was waiting to put him to bed. I sat down on the couch and turned on the radio, quietly to not keep Nathan awake, and then laughed at the song that was playing. I couldn't help but sing along, even if it wasn't on key.

_And we keep dreamin' of a world, where all is good so we were told. We need a hero. And we keep dreamin' of a time where good is all that we can find. We need a hero._

Kim came down a few seconds later and started laughing at my poor singing ability. She ducked around the corner and then came back a minute or so later carrying an acoustic guitar. Sitting next to me, she turned the radio off and strapped the guitar around her shoulder.

"This is how it's done, Tommy," she said softly, playing the first few chords of a different song before she started singing.

_The mountain is high, the valley is low,  
And you're confused on which way to go.  
So I come here to give you a hand  
And lead you into the promised land. So...  
_

_Come on and take a free ride, free ride  
Come on, I'll take you by my side.  
Come on and take a free ride.  
_

_All over the country I've seen it the same.  
Nobody's winnin' at this kind of game.  
We've got to do better, it's time to begin.  
You know all the answers must come from within. So...  
_

_Come on and take a free ride, free ride  
Come on, I'll take you by my side.  
Come on and take a free ride.  
_

_All over the world, a new kind of thing.  
People are sayin' the times have changed.  
Well that may be true but the feeling's the same.  
We're havin' a good time. The free ride still remains. So..._

_Come on and take a free ride, free ride  
Come on, I'll take you by my side.  
Come on and take a free ride. _

"Will you take the ride with me, Tommy?" she asked quietly.

She stopped playing and then stuck her tongue out me, teasing me more for my lack of decent singing skills. Instead of continuing to play her game, I just kissed her instead, pushing her down against the couch with her arms wrapped around my neck.

"I think I win," I said with a smirk as I pulled away a few seconds later.

"Tommy?" she answered.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Shut up and kiss me, dammit," she replied, grabbing me by my shirt collar and pulling me back down to her.

We locked lips for a few more minutes and then I moved my kisses down to her neck and exposed collarbone. Her quiet moans let me know I was doing a good job with her.

Eventually, though, I lost interest in her neck area and had to change my center of focus so I climbed back a little and lifted her up, pulling my leather jacket off of her. I went to go for my shirt next but she put a hand up to stop me.

"Tommy?" she asked "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Only if you're ready, Beautiful," I said seriously "If you want to wait, I'm okay with that."

"No," she answered, shaking her head "I've waited way too long already. I want to do this with you now."

"I was hoping you'd say that," I replied as I got off the couch and lifted her into my arms "To the bedroom my Pink Princess?"

"To the bedroom, my White Knight," she answered with a laugh as I carried her down the hall and into the bedroom. Luckily, Nathan's room was upstairs and the master bedroom was downstairs.

As soon as I had pushed the door closed and locked it behind me, I set her back on her feet and immediately went back to kissing her. Our mouths opened and closed rapidly as she tried to lift my shirt up over my head without breaking the kiss for more than a few seconds.

Eventually we had gotten each other undressed and Kim had fallen back on the bed, instructing me to come to her with just her finger. I obliged and climbed on top of the petite woman, working on her neck for a few minutes before slowly making my way down the rest of her body.

When I reached her breasts, I flicked my tongue at her nipples, slowly sucking on them while Kim put a pillow over her face to muffle her moans. Continuing to work on her breasts, I ran my fingers softly down the sides of her body, the lightness of the touch causing her to shiver.

I continued making my way down the rest of her body, softly kissing her all over until I was directly in between her legs. I lifted my eyes to her and she just nodded her head as she fell back against the bed, allowing the pleasure to take over her body.

I kept my focus on pleasing Kim for close to fifteen minutes until she started to quiver and I knew she was close. Her moans made me more determined to please her and a few seconds later she came hard, her body slowly shaking and her face telling the whole story.

When her orgasm had finally subsided, she grabbed the side of my head and pulled my face towards her. The combination of Kim's lips and oral sex took over and I knew I had to have her right there so I broke the kiss.

"Are you ready, Beautiful?" I asked caringly as she nodded her head that she was.

I nodded back and then bent down to kiss her as I slowly slid myself inside her. Starting off, I went slowly, allowing Kim and I to adjust to the sensation and then gradually I increased the pace, our kisses matching perfectly with each and every thrust.

My desire for Kim had quickly become insatiable and I just had to taste as much of her body as possible. She wrapped her arms around my neck again as I kissed and licked every square inch of her body that I could reach.

Suddenly, Kim grabbed me and flipped me over on to my back. She put a soft finger on my chest and slowly traced down my body as she grinded herself onto me.

Ten more minutes of this passed and Kim was closing in on another orgasm, as was I. She started working on my neck and for the first time I realized why she liked it so much. The sensation was incredible and as I gave one final thrust, we both cried out from the intensity of our simultaneous orgasm.

Kim collapsed on top of me, holding onto my body as I wrapped my arms around her, keeping her as close to me as humanly possible. It took her a few minutes to regain her breath before she rolled off me and onto her back.

I watched her intently as she climbed off the bed and walked into her bathroom without saying a word. She came back a few minutes later wearing a pair of pink pajama bottoms, a white tank top and a huge smile. I had slipped my boxers back on when she left and I was sitting up in the bed, waiting for her when she finally came out.

She climbed back in next to me and laid her head against my shoulder as I slid my arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close. Rubbing her arm, I bent down and kissed her softly on the top of her head, relishing and cherishing the moment we had just shared.

"You were incredible, Tommy," Kim whispered, turning her head towards me and giving me a quick kiss.

"I aim to please, Beautiful," I said matter-of-factly "I always knew our first time together would be great, I just didn't know it would be amazing."

"You know what would really be amazing?" she asked as I shook my head that I didn't know "If we got the old gang back together. Just for a weekend or something. Tahoe is so pretty right now and we could all go camping up in the woods. You, me, Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, Adam, Rocky and Aisha. Just the nine of us all together again."

"What about Nathan?" I asked in reply "You can't just leave him alone for the weekend, can you? My parents didn't trust me alone in the house until I was fifteen and even then if one thing was out of place when they got home they thought I had thrown a huge party."

"Well, Tommy, Nathan _is _a whole five years old so no, I can't leave him alone. And if I did, I'm _soooo_ _sure_ all his little five year-old friends from preschool will come over and they'll all do intravenous drugs and get drunk and have tons of unprotected sex," she replied sarcastically with a smirk "Jessica has stayed over with Nathan plenty of times before when I've had to go out of town for work. She's just like his big sister now. I just make sure there's plenty of food in the fridge and give Jessica a few extra bucks."

I nodded my head and smiled, ignoring Kim's sarcastic reply and thinking about how great it would be to have all of us together again. The last time we had all gotten together as a group after Jason, Trini and Zack left for Switzerland hadn't happened under the best circumstances. Andros had just destroyed Zordon's energy tube and we had all gathered together in the former Command Center for a makeshift memorial.

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_Flashback_

It was shortly after Thanksgiving in 1999 when TJ Johnson, my successor to the Red Turbo Powers and the current Blue Space Ranger, showed up at my dorm room at Reefside Tech. The rain had been pouring for hours and TJ was soaked to the bone. I quickly let him in and offered him some coffee and a change of clothes as he thanked me graciously.

That was the day I found out about Zordon. It was also the first time I had cried in at least two or three years. Jason was the first person I called and between him and I, we managed to get in touch with everyone, including Aisha who was in Africa.

We all gathered at the remains of the Command Center, grieving with one another at the loss of our mentor and surrogate father. It was also the first and only time I saw Kim in our ten year time of avoidance.

Tears littered the faces of all of us and no one's emotions were spared as we all said a few words about Zordon and his impact on us. The things Kim and Adam had said were particularly intense and only made me cry harder.

_Zordon was more than just the man that gave us our powers. He was like a father to us all, sometimes more so than some of our real parents. He told me it was okay to chase my dreams and he taught me to spread my wings and fly. Everyday we spent with Zordon was a blessing and we should cherish the moments we had with him. Smile at all the good times but after today, when we've all said our peace, don't cry anymore. It's what Zordon would have wanted, guys._

Kim's words hit me like a ton of bricks. Without even thinking about it, I pulled her in closely, offering as much comfort to her as I could. Then it was Adam's turn to speak.

_I was an outsider when I met most of you for the first time. The new kid in town that just wanted to fit in. I was just a shy sixteen year-old kid when we met at the Ninja Tournament and then a week or so later, Tommy, Kim and Billy saved Rocky, Aisha and myself from being turned into evil warriors for Zedd. That was when my life got interesting. Zordon taught me to never doubt myself and my abilities. I remember how scared I was when I took Zack's place on the team because I thought you guys would never accept me because I wasn't an original. For as scared and as nervous as I was, Zordon helped make the transition easier than I thought possible. Who I am today and who you all are is a result of Zordon, a man we could never touch but who's spirit, wisdom and knowledge we will always feel._

Hearing Adam speak was like watching poetry in motion. His words flowed beautifully, only adding to the tears we all had running out of our eyes.

After everyone had said their peace we said our final goodbyes to Zordon and went our separate ways. That day was the first time we had all seen each other together in five years. Seven more would pass before we all got back together again.

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"I think that's a great idea, Kim," I muttered, kissing her on the forehead "I'll talk to Jason tomorrow and see how he feels. He'll probably think it's a great idea and want to call everyone tomorrow."

Kim smiled back at me and held onto my waist as I softly traced my fingers across her skin. We sat in silence for ten minutes or so until I realized that Kim had fallen asleep on my shoulder.

I laid her gently down on the mattress and pulled the sheets up to cover her body then I slid down next to her, wrapping my arm around her waist. I didn't know if Kim wanted me to stay or not but at two in the morning I didn't really have time to question my actions because a few minutes later I had fallen asleep too.

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_Six hours later_

I woke up around eight that morning to the smell of breakfast coming down the hallway and the sound of Nathan singing along with whatever program they showed for kids in the mornings now.

Not wanting to greet Kim with my infamous morning breath, I stumbled into the bathroom and squirted some toothpaste on my finger but then I noticed a plastic bag with a toothbrush, a pack of disposable razors, a stick of deodorant and a travel size bottle of shaving cream. There was also a note attached to the bag of toiletries sitting on the counter.

_I thought you might need a few things. Here's hoping you spend many more nights with me - Love, Kim_.

I couldn't help but smile as I read and re-read the note. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt wanted and appreciated by someone other than a group of four teenagers. I got a quick shave in and got cleaned up a bit before pulling on my shorts and polo from the night before and going into the living room.

Nathan was sitting with his back to me so I snuck up behind him quietly, gesturing for Kim to be quiet, and then started tickling him. He squealed and wiggled away, running for safety into the kitchen and hiding behind his mom.

I ducked down out of sight and crept quietly around the wall that was separating Nathan and Kim from me but when I jumped around the corner, Nathan wasn't there. I looked at Kim who shrugged her shoulders and then I felt the weight of Nathan as he jumped onto my back.

"There you are!" I said excitedly as I stood up, holding on to him and spinning him around in circles.

By the time I had made my eighth or ninth rotation I was starting to feel dizzy so I set Nathan down before collapsing into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. The room was spinning violently but the sound of a plate being set down in front of me quickly snapped me from my stupor.

Kim had made waffles, sausage, scrambled eggs and hash browns along with homemade orange juice. It smelled amazing and within a few seconds of having my plate set down in front of me, Kim and Nathan had both joined me at the table to eat.

"Thanks for all the stuff, Kim," I said with a smile and a wink "I'm sure it will all get put to good use. I'll even stay over just so I don't have to buy my own stuff."

"You're welcome," Kim replied, squeezing my hand a little "And I don't care why you stay, just as long as you're here with me."

I smiled at Kim who returned the gesture and then leaned in to kiss her while my lips still tasted like mint and not maple syrup and eggs. Nathan groaned a little bit but quickly returned to eating his breakfast.

Even though we were eating the same food, Kim and I took turns feeding each other and stealing quick kisses, hoping to get another rise out of Nathan but it wasn't going to work. Between the cartoon that was playing in the living room and the food on his plate, he was far too preoccupied to notice the two adults doing anything.

After we had finished breakfast, Nathan disappeared to watch cartoons again while I helped Kim clean up everything and do the dishes. She rinsed the dishes and every time she handed one to me to put in the dishwasher, I made sure I got a kiss before taking it from her.

When everything was all cleaned up, Kim offered me the shower in her bathroom if I wanted to get cleaned up and I took the offer graciously. After everything that had happened last night, I'm pretty sure I didn't smell like peaches and cream. Kim dug out a towel for me and gave me another quick kiss before shutting the bathroom door and leaving me alone to shower.

Halfway through the shower I realized I didn't have any clean clothes and that the whole point of the shower would be negated when I had to put back on the same clothes I had worn the night before. At least that's what I had thought but when I came out of the bathroom there was a pair of my old basketball shorts and a faded green t-shirt that Kim had stolen from me.

I slipped the old clothes on which were a little snug but still fit comfortably enough. Growing up I had always worn tighter fitting tees to "accentuate" my physique and, looking in the mirror, I remembered why I had done that because I was in better shape now than I had been as a teenager.

"That's two in one day," I said to Kim as I came back into the living room "You don't have to do all this stuff for me, you know."

"I know I don't _have to_ but I wanted to," she answered "I like doing things for you just as much as you like doing them for me. You were so amazing last night on our date and with Nathan, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated it. Which is why I made you this."

She reached over the counter and picked up a small stack of different colored pieces of cardboard paper that were hole-punched and bound together and handed it to me. It said _Tommy's Coupon Book_ and I smiled at it as I flipped through the pages that ranged from _One Quiet Night In With Me _to _As Many Hugs And Kisses As You Want._ But it was the last page that put an even bigger smile on my face and a tear in my eye. _All My Love Forever And Ever_ it read.

"Thank you, Kim. This is great," I said quietly "All your love forever and ever, huh? That's a long time you know."

"With you by my side, forever is so worth it," she replied "Do you want to cash in the one for kisses?"

I nodded my head and bent down, kissing her softly and passionately. Her hands found my butt and she squeezed both cheeks, causing me to jump back in surprise.

"Wow, you're just full of surprises, aren't ya?" I asked with a grin.

"More than you know, Handsome," she answered, reaching up to kiss me again before skipping out of the kitchen with me following close behind her.

For the next few hours, Kim and I alternated between playing a football video game with Nathan. Even at five the kid was good, damn good and he probably could have beaten Rocky who prided himself on his video game skills.

One o'clock rolled around faster than I had expected and not getting my usual eight-to-nine hours of sleep was, sadly, catching up with me. For some reason, when I turned 25, it was like my body slowly lost its ability to function if I didn't sleep at least eight hours.

I looked at Kim and said that I should probably get going and she nodded her head as we got up from the couch and started walking towards the door. I was just turning around to say goodbye when Nathan came peeling around the corner and launched himself into my arms. I swung him back and forth for a minute while Kim stood there smiling brightly at how well we were getting along.

"Are you gonna come back and see me again, Tommy?" he asked hopefully and with pleading eyes.

"Yep, I sure am buddy. You're just to cool of a kid to not hang out with," I replied, spitting into my hand and extending it to him "I'll even spit shake on it."

He quickly spit into his hand and grabbed mine, shaking it up and down as hard as he possibly could, causing my arm to flail around. I got down on my knees so I was at eye-level with him and gave him another hug.

"Nathan, can I say bye to your mom alone?" I asked gently.

"Are you guys going to kiss?" he asked in reply.

"Nathan Thomas, if Tommy and I want to kiss that's between us. I'm sure Tommy doesn't like you asking him every time we're going to kiss," Kim interjected.

"Kim, it's okay. It doesn't bother me. He's just curious," I replied and then turned towards Nathan "And yes, we're going to kiss. A lot. So go in the living room so you don't have to watch me and your mom play kissy-face, okay?"

Nathan covered his eyes and then turned around, running into the living room as I looked at Kim and laughed. I slipped my finger under her chin, lifting up her face and kissing her deeply. We stayed that way for a few minutes until Kim finally pulled back.

"Get outta here, Handsome," she said jokingly, giving me a light push and a slap on the butt "Call me once you talk to Jason and the others, okay? But don't call Trini, I want to be the one to call her."

"Okay," I answered with a grin "I'll call Trini and you can call Adam, Rocky, Zack, Aisha and Billy."

"Tommy, I'm serious. I want to call Trini," she said seriously as I put up my arms in mock defense then wrapped them around Kim, pulling her into me.

"I won't call Trini, I promise," I replied "We can even spit shake if you want to."

"Eww, no way," she said with a laugh "A hug and a kiss goodbye will do just fine, I think."

I nodded my head and gave her another quick kiss before she pushed me out the open door and closed it behind me. I started walking down the driveway to my Jeep but just as I reached the car I heard Kim come running down to the street, calling for me to wait.

"Here," she said, handing me a clothing bag with two hangers peeking out through the top "Your polo and shorts from last night."

"You are just too sweet," I answered, taking the bag from her and giving her another kiss goodbye before setting the clothes down on my backseat and climbing into the car "I'll call you in a few hours, okay?"

"Don't go forgetting on me now ," she replied, leaning in through the window for one last kiss "Bye, Tommy."

"Bye, Kim," I muttered as she turned and headed back up the driveway "Hey Kim!" I yelled as she turned around and looked back at me "I love you."

"You better," she called out and then went back towards the house, stopping just in front of the door and turning back towards me "I love you, too."

I smiled and started up the car as I watched her slowly disappear into the house before putting the Jeep in gear and driving away from one of the best days I had had in a long time.

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_Jason's POV_

It was now Tuesday afternoon, a few minutes after noon, Tommy wasn't back yet and Kimberly still hadn't called either. I figured things had either gone really, really well and they were having a great time together or everything had blown up when Tommy found out about Nathan, in which case I knew I wouldn't be hearing from either of them for a while. Silently, I prayed it was the former.

I had gone downstairs to get in a quick kata session and lift a few weights and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had a missed call along with a voicemail from Kim when I came back an hour later. Crossing my fingers and praying everything had gone well, I called my mailbox and waited for the message to play.

_You have one new message from today at 2:17 p.m_., the automated voice told me before Kim's message started to play_ Hey Jase, it's me. I told you I'd call you when Tommy left and I just wanted to let you know that everything went great. He was a little shocked and nervous at first but I think he really likes Nathan and I know Nathan likes him. We went to the Youth Center and had ice cream with Ernie and he showed Tommy and I a few things that we'll need to sit down and talk about. Tommy's got something up his sleeve that he wants to talk to you about but other than that everything went great. I couldn't be happier. Don't worry about calling me back, I'm taking Nathan to the movies so my phone will be off. I'll talk to you later, Bubba. Love ya._

After closing my phone I started to laugh a little bit but the sound of a key turning in the door made me stop immediately. Since Tommy was going to be spending the whole summer at my house, I realized we weren't going to be together every waking moment of every day so I had made him his own key for things like this. The door opened and Tommy was standing there with a big smile and an even bigger box in his arms.

"What's up man? How'd it go?" I asked as I quickly walked over towards him, taking the box out of his outstretched hands "What's the deal with this big ass thing?"

"Wow, so many questions at once. You're just like Nathan," he said with a laugh "Nothing's up, everything went perfectly and you can see for yourself. How's that for answering three questions in one sentence?"

I just shrugged my shoulders and immediately took the box into the kitchen, setting it on the counter as I went to find a box cutter to open it with. After digging through my cluttered drawers for a few minutes I finally found one and sliced through the tape as I looked at the contents of the box which made me take a few step back. Then I turned to look at Tommy who was still standing there smiling at me.

"Tommy, where did all of this stuff come from, bro?" I asked in shock.

"It's all stuff from Ernie," he answered "He's been saving up all those pictures and newspaper clippings for years. At least that's what he told Kim and I before telling us he knew we had all been Rangers."

"You mean…" I began as Tommy nodded his head "But how did he find out?"

"I guess we weren't as inconspicuous as we thought," he replied "But I figured if Ernie was going to tell people he would have done it a long time ago. He's never let us down before."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I agreed quickly "Ernie was always a good guy. I'm sure he's trustworthy with all of this."

"Yep," he returned before grabbing a beer out of the fridge, falling on the couch and turning on the television "So what's up bro? How was your night?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question, pal," I answered "I take it you aren't terribly mad at me for not telling you about everything, right?"

He looked at me for just a split second and then quickly turned his attention back to whatever baseball game was on replay. I heard the deep exhale coming from him and knew he had mixed emotions on the whole situation.

"I don't know, man. You're my best friend and I've never kept anything this big from you, before," he answered quietly "I understand why you did it and I know how persuasive Kim can be when she sets her mind on something but I guess I'm still a little disappointed that I was the last one to know about everything."

"I'm sorry, bro, I really am but Kim made me promise I wouldn't say anything to you. And not everyone knows either. The only reason Adam and Rocky know is because they bumped into Kim and Nathan at the county fair a couple years back," I replied "Justin and Tanya have no clue and Kat moved back to Australia right before Kim came back to Angel Grove so you weren't the only one out of the loop."

"It doesn't surprise me that Justin and Tanya don't know. None of us were ever really that close with them," he said "The replacements for you guys and for Kim all proved themselves but Tanya and Justin didn't do anything that special. They just got thrown on to the team because we needed bodies and it showed. Our teamwork wasn't anything close to what it should have been and me being the closest thing left to an original Ranger was weird."

"Tell me about it man. That's why I was glad when I lost the Gold Ranger powers. Not having all of us together again just felt wrong. I still don't know how you can deal with that and learn to trust new people so quickly," I returned as Tommy shrugged his shoulders "So are we good man? You know I didn't keep this from you for the wrong reasons or anything, right?"

"Yeah, bro. We're good. If things hadn't worked out I would have been pissed so count your lucky stars that I like Nathan," he answered with a laugh "So, Kim and I were talking and we thought it would be cool just to get some of the old team back together. We were thinking of calling Billy, Trini, Zack, Rocky and Aisha and try to find a weekend where we're all free. Maybe go camping or something. What do you think?"

"I think that'd be cool, man. We could go up to Lake Tahoe, do a little fishing. Yeah, I like that," I replied "I'll call Zack and Billy, you call Adam and Rocky. Kim will want to call Trini."

"Alright, I'll call them later this afternoon. I didn't get to sleep much last night," he muttered, shooting me a wink and then, standing up, he stretched his arms high over his head "I'll see you in a couple hours, okay? Night, bro."

I gave Tommy a quick head nod and wave as he disappeared down the hallway to his room. Seeing that he hadn't finished his beer I picked it up off the table and quickly chugged the rest of it which preceded an overly loud belch.

"Mmmm, yummy," I muttered as I tossed the bottle into the trash.

After scavenging the fridge for a few minutes and munching on whatever I could find, I decided it was time to disappear for a while too. I turned off all the lights and then the television which Tommy had failed to do when he left for bed.

I shook my head and made a mental note to give him shit about it whenever he woke up and then slipped into my bedroom. I turned on the TV and then plopped down on the couch that sat against one of the walls in my room. The buzzing of my cell phone vibrating against my wooden dresser reached my ears and I jumped up quickly to read the incoming text message that I had been waiting for all day long.

_Hey sweetie. How r u?_ it read.

_I'm good. Missing u more everyday though._ I wrote back and waited for a reply.

_I know babe. I miss u 2. We'll see each other soon._

_Yep. Hopefully sooner than u think. Kim's gonna be calling u soon, I think._

_What? Y?_

_You'll see. It's a surprise._

_Ok. I'm just getting done w/my lunch break so I'll talk to u soon, k? I love you, Jase._

_I know u do. Have a good day at work, Tri. I love you too._

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_Well, what do you guys think? Be sure to review and let me know, okay! I also wanted to let you guys know that I came across a full soundtrack of every song from every incarnation of Power Rangers ever made. If you're as big a nut as I am, that's a pretty cool deal. If you want any of the songs, shoot me a pm and I'll get them to you._

_Cheers,_

_WK_


	8. An Awkward Start

When something is just sitting right in front of your face, staring at you and waiting for you to grab it, time seems to immediately slow down. You want to just reach out and take whatever it is that's in front of you, taunting you and daring you to grab it, but you can't. That's exactly how I felt for the ten years I lived without Kimberly in my life and that's the same way I felt for the two weeks leading up to our little camping trip.

Between Jason, Kim and myself we had managed to get Rocky and Adam in Stone Canyon, Zack in Los Angeles, Trini in Sacramento and Aisha in San Francisco to commit to a Friday-Monday camping trip in Truckee, right on Lake Tahoe, over the long Fourth of July weekend. Zack had been the hardest to get in touch with but he had also been the most excited and eager once he had heard our plan.

The plan was to have Adam, Zack and Rocky meet Jason, Kim and I in Angel Grove and then head north, stopping in San Francisco to pick up Aisha and then in Sacramento to retrieve Trini. Since returning home from Aquitar, Billy had become employed by a branch of NASADA in Turtle Cove and, due to some work related issues, he wasn't going to be able to come up with all of us on Friday but he had promised he would drive up early on Saturday morning instead.

The plans had actually been put into motion and the wheels had slowly started to spin but when I say slowly, I mean _slowly._ Like molasses coming out of a jar slow. There was still a two week gap until our much anticipated trip and the three of us in Angel Grove had become almost sickeningly anxious.

For as exciting as the trip was going to be, the things we all did waiting for that weekend to come were extremely boring in comparison to the fun that was awaiting us. There were no crazy adventures or exciting events like the ones that had made up my first weekend back in Angel Grove.

Instead, Jason and I had fallen into the routine of staying up late to play video games or watch movies and waking up even later to do the same thing all over again. My only reprieve from sitting at Jason's house, wasting time and doing nothing was my time with Nathan and the few nights Kim and I had spent together. I felt like I had to make up for ten years worth of lost time and I cherished every single minute of every day I got to spend with both of them.

Nathan and I were getting along fabulously, better than I had expected, and he had even accidentally called me "dad" once, a mistake that had made him extremely embarrassed. My lack of speech after he had said that made him think I was angry with him but that was actually the farthest thing from the truth. While I didn't verbally or physically express my feelings when he had called me "dad," in my heart and head, I wished that he was my son. I had only known the boy for a little over a week but he had already become a major part of my life.

It was a mildly warm Thursday evening when I drove Nathan and myself to the park with two baseball mitts, a ball and the promise that by the end of the night, he would be able to catch and throw a baseball. He had quickly picked up on how to throw the ball properly but he wasn't so quick on the concept of catching.

Many a throw had gotten by him or had struck him in a number of places on his body before he finally caught one. Having been unsuccessful in catching my soft tosses, I put a little extra strength behind the one he caught, hoping the added speed would quicken his reaction time and it did.

The pure joy on his face when the ball smacked against the inside of the leather mitt was incredible. After seeing how elated he was, I vowed that I would be there to teach him everything a father was supposed to teach his son. I didn't care that he wasn't my son by birth, especially not when Kim insisted on commending me every night for how great I was with him and how I had been more like a father to him in the last week than his real dad had been in five years.

By the time we had finished playing catch, he had decided he no longer wanted to play football and had switched his sport of choice to baseball. I think Kim was secretly glad when he came home with aspirations of playing the less violent sport of Little League baseball instead of Pop Warner football.

His mind was now set on playing baseball and he refused to back down until Kim promised that she would sign him up for Tee-Ball when the next season started. Kim was relentless in thanking and praising me and it was actually starting to get annoying so I had resolved to sit down and talk with her. Lay it all out on the table, you could say.

"Look, Kim," I said one night after bringing Nathan home from the baseball field "You have to stop thanking me every time I do something with or for Nathan. Spending time with him is just like being a Ranger for me. It's not about the thanks and gratitude, it's about doing something to help someone. Knowing that I'm having an impact on Nathan's life and that you're allowing me to be a part of his life and yours is all the thanks I need."

"I know. I'm sorry," she said softly, taking my hands in hers "It's just hard for me to not tell you how much I appreciate everything you are doing for him. For us. Having you around has made life so much easier for him and I and since we're being so honest tonight, I feel like you're doing nothing but giving and we're doing nothing but taking. I don't like that."

Ten years ago this would have been the prelude to an argument but time had done it's thing and had matured us both immensely. Instead of saying anything I just cupped her cheeks with my hands and kissed her.

"So does that mean we're done talking?" Kim asked seductively as she pulled back.

"Only if you promise to stop thanking me every time I take Nathan for ice cream or to play catch," I answered with a smile.

"Fine," she returned "But only if you agree that you'll let me do things for you every once in a while instead of the other way around."

"Well, I can think of a few things you can do for me, Beautiful," I replied, sweeping her up into my arms and kissing her "And I think now would be the prefect time to cash in my _Quiet Night In With Kim_ coupon."

"I like where you're headed with that," she shot back as I carried her into the bedroom and locked the door behind us.

Between Jason, Kim and Nathan, my only time alone consisted of sleeping, showering and driving to Kim's. I was physically drained but loving every minute of it. I had my best friend who I could count on for anything, my girlfriend who I loved more than anything on the planet and a young child that I could watch over, help mentor and mold, all within a fifteen minute drive. Angel Grove, as it had been in the past, was perfect for me and there was nothing in my life not to love.

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_Yes! It's finally here!_ I thought to myself as my alarm clock went off at six in the morning. However, the loud chime failed to wake Kim who had stayed over the night before to save driving time and when I came back from brushing my teeth she was still out cold. I actually had to shake her for a good couple of minutes until I heard the grunting and groaning that signified she was awake.

"Come on, Beautiful. Time to wake up," I said softly, yanking the comforter away from Kim who was wearing nothing but a thong and tight tank top.

"Go take a shower and let me sleep for a few more minutes," she groaned at me.

"It might have to be a cold shower after seeing you like that," I fired back with a smile and when I heard her chuckle, I knew I had her.

"Oh, you're not talking about little old me, are you?" she asked in a damsel-in-distress accent, sliding the thong down just a little and teasing me more "You couldn't possibly be referring to me."

"That's it. I've had enough of your games," I replied as I picked her up off the bed, threw her over my shoulder and carried her into the bathroom "In the shower you go, young lady. Let the good doctor get you all nice and clean."

"With big strong hands like those, how could I refuse?" she asked with a grin "Maybe it won't have to be a cold shower after all."

I immediately reached into the shower and turned the water on before turning back to Kim as we both started to kiss and undress while waiting for the water to warm up. Kim and I took turns soaping each other up which was really just an excuse to touch each other but eventually the light foreplay became too much for either of us to handle.

Luckily, the shower had a small bench inside of it which made things a whole lot easier for us. I sat down and pulled her in close, while she straddled my legs.

"Thank God for big showers," I muttered as she lowered herself onto me.

Climaxes for both of us followed a few minutes later. Smiling at each other, we climbed out of the shower and dried each other off before getting dressed. I had chosen a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a black tee shirt while Kim went with a pair of cutoff denim shorts and a pink tank top.

We each grabbed our duffel bags and made our way into the living room where Jason was sitting on the couch with his head buried in his hands. I looked at Kim in confusion, expecting an answer but she was just as puzzled as I was.

"Jase, what's wrong, bro?" I asked quietly as I waited on a reply.

"You're bathroom, in case you inconsiderate bastards didn't know, is right fucking next to my bedroom," he replied with a stern look as I looked at Kim and grinned sheepishly "I know you guys are back together and I'm really truly happy for both of you so I'm gonna let it go this time because you're both my friends and I love you dearly. But if I hear Kim calling out for your "Dragonzord"or you moaning 'Oh, fuck' one more time,_ just one more,_ and I swear to God I'll burst in there and murder you both on the spot."

I didn't want to laugh and I could tell Kim didn't either but neither of us had the self-control to stop it. Jason had overheard us having sex and, while his face showed that it clearly wasn't funny to him, it was absolutely hilarious to Kim and I. He just stared at us in shock, a pissed off look littering his face as I tried to regain my composure.

"I-I'm sorry, m-m-man. It w-won't happen again" I stammered in between laughs and then held up two fingers "Scout's honor."

"Yeah," Kim added "No more sex in the bathroom. We don't want to upset the children do we, Tommy?"

"Fuck you both," he shot back with a chuckle of his own "There's some donuts on the counter if you're hungry and coffee too. Rocky and Adam should be here shortly."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth there was a loud knock at the door. Jason rolled his eyes at the beat Rocky insisted on creating every time he knocked on a door and went to open it for them.

"Rocky! Adam!" Kim yelled as they walked in and she jumped off the couch to hug them both.

"Kim. It's so good to see you again," Adam said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah, it is!" Rocky interjected before lifting Kim into a hug of his own "Oh, I think someone's gained a little weight since the last time I did this."

"Jerk," Kim muttered as she slapped Rocky playfully on the shoulder "I _did_ have a kid you know. At least I didn't end up forever fat like a lot of mothers do."

"I know, Kim. I'm just giving you a hard time," Rocky said quietly, rubbing his arm where Kim had hit him "You know I love you and you really do look good. Tommy's a lucky man."

"He tells me that everyday," she replied as I came over to greet them. We exchanged handshakes and hellos and a few minutes later, after a couple donuts and some coffee, we were all out the door.

Our plan had mostly stayed the same but, as we expected, a few minor changes had occurred. Instead of leaving on Friday morning, picking everyone up and getting to the camp site late at night, we had decided to leave on Thursday and stay at Trini's house that night which saved us from a painfully long car ride and having to set up camp in the dark.

Kim and I had suggested renting a Suburban or Excursion to Jason, something that could fit all nine of us, but he scoffed at the idea. The idea of _renting _one. Sitting in the driveway was a brand new Chevy Suburban, fully loaded with every thing you could put in a car.

"You could have just rented a car, Jase," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"Oh well. Fuck it," he replied with a shoulder shrug "If we're gonna put 7,000 miles on a car in a weekend I'd rather have it be mine so I don't have to deal with the rental company if something goes wrong."

I opened my mouth to reply but quickly closed it. It was a pointless argument and nothing good could come from taking it any further so I conceded and started on loading things up.

We had four tents, a barbecue, six or seven fishing rods, a tackle box, some food, five duffle bags and no way in hell that nine of us were going to fit in the car. Especially not with the added luggage from Trini, Aisha and Zack.

Kim and I agreed to take a second vehicle so we tossed some of the stuff in Kim's truck. Jason also had a decent sized trailer sitting at the base of the driveway that was holding a fleet of ATV's and jet skis. Oh and then there was the boat that Jason insisted we tow with Kim's truck.

Even if the Suburban had been big enough for all of us and our stuff, we still would have taken the second vehicle just to haul the boat. What I had hoped would be a small and quiet gathering of my closest friends had now turned in to an all-out excursion of epic proportions. Jason had spared no expense in making this trip memorable and eventually, after everything was packed, loaded and hooked up, we were gone.

We managed to drive a whole fifteen minutes when I felt the vibration of my cell phone against my leg. I dug it out and looked at the called ID to see that Jason was calling me.

"What's up man?" I asked casually.

"We gotta go back," he answered "We forgot something."

"Son of a bitch. What'd you forget?" I asked with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

"Zack," he answered and I erupted into laughter as Kim stared at me in confusion.

"Shit. All right. I'm gonna get off at the next exit. Follow me back around and we'll go back," I replied "I'll talk to you back at the house. Later."

"What was that all about? What'd he forget?" Kim asked as soon as I hung up the phone.

"It's not really _what_ he forgot. It's more of a _who_ he forgot," I answered as her eyes grew wide when she realized what I was talking about.

"Poor Zack. I can't believe we all forgot about him," she muttered "I feel terrible now. He's probably sitting there at the house all by himself wondering where the hell we all are."

She was right. I pulled up at Jason's ten minutes later with Jason's troupe arriving just a minute or two later and Zack was sitting on the front porch, twiddling his thumbs and staring angrily at us.

"You're all assholes, you know that," he muttered, tossing his bag in the back of Jason's Suburban "How do five of you manage to forget the Zackman?"

"Uhh…see the thing is…we," Jason stumbled and then realized there was no legitimate answer "Sorry?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Zack answered "Let's just get going. I haven't seen Aisha in years and she looked _fine_ on the cover of _Rolling Stone_ last month. I've been begging her to let me produce one of her songs but she keeps putting me off."

For just a split-second Kim and I noticed a change in Adam's smiling expression but he quickly replaced it with his original smile. I looked over at Kim but she just shrugged her shoulders and then intervened before anything else could be said.

"That's because Aisha doesn't like to mix her job with her 'other life' unless it's absolutely necessary," Kim interjected and then moved to hug Zack "And since she's had three platinum records without help from any of us, I'd say it isn't absolutely necessary."

"Still, you think she'd throw a guy a bone every once in a while. I'm just a poor young brother trying to make it in a cruel world," Zack replied jokingly and then clapped his hands loudly "So who am I riding with for this fantastically long car ride? Wait, first off, who's driving."

"Jason and I," I interrupted as a relieved look came over Zack's face "Why?"

"Because if Rocky drives he likes to eat fast food, lock the windows and fart as much as possible, that's why," Zack answered "I'm not riding with him for eight hours smelling nothing but Rocky-butt the whole time."

"Aww, come on Zack. You know you really like _Eau de Rocky. _It's irresistible," Rocky said with a laugh.

"Yeah, irresistible to a dead guy. But that makes sense because enough of it will kill us all," Adam added with a smile "Now are we going to sit here thumbing ourselves or are we gonna go have the best fucking weekend of our life?"

"I'm with Adam. I like your attitude so you're riding with us," Kim replied, pointing to Adam "Just promise me there will be no 'dick and fart' jokes."

Adam and I exchanged nervous glances and then burst out laughing. We were struggling to keep each other standing while Kim stood there with her hands on her hips and an unimpressed look on her face.

"I can now die a happy man having heard the words 'dick' and 'fart' come from Kim," Jason interrupted with an eye roll "Now that we've all had our fun and laughs, let's go. We're already late because we had to come back for Jackass Number One over there."

"Hey. Your Jackass Number One, I'm Number Two, Tommy's Number Three, Rocky's Number Four and Adam's Five. I thought we agreed on that at our last meeting," Zack replied with a grin.

"What about Billy?" Kim asked "Why doesn't he get Jackass Status."

All five of us males looked at each other, smiled and rolled our eyes in unison. Jason and I had actually developed Club Jackass as a way for us male Rangers to stay in touch but we all agreed Billy didn't have the qualifications to be in the club. We'd all get together a couple times a year just to socialize, drink beer and eat pizza. We didn't ignore Billy and we still hung out with him just as regularly as we did with each other, we just had our meetings at times where we knew it would be inconvenient for Billy so as not to offend him.

Like at three in the morning on a Wednesday.

Billy was a Ranger and a brother to all of us, he just was too nice of a guy to get yanked into a group where all we did was hurl insults at each other and behave like college kids. Even if we had invited him in to the group, I don't think he would have been all that interested.

"Billy doesn't have Jackass Status for one simple reason," I answered, wrapping my arm around Kim's shoulders "He's not a Jackass. Jason freely admits to being a complete and utter waste of space on this planet. Zack is a no-talent-haven't-had-a-hit-in-years record producer. Rocky likes fat old men and Adam just generally sucks at life. And after all that, I'm sure you can see why I have Jackass Status."

"Hey, Tommy. Can you give these to your mom when you see her?" Rocky asked, digging into his pocket and pulling out a sleeve of condoms "We like to keep a little back stock just in case we decide to unexpectedly turn up the heat."

"Why the fuck did you bring condoms, Rocky?" Adam asked in reply "I think Tommy's gonna be the only one of us with a shot at any action this weekend unless you plan on boning a deer or a bear."

"Well, there is one bear I wouldn't mind getting my hands on," Zack interrupted as everyone laughed. Everyone except Adam that is who had shut his eyes and turned away from the conversation at the mention of Aisha.

"Speak for yourself, Five," Jason added, referring to Adam as he spun back around "There _is_ a reason outside of Tommy and Kim for having all these tents. If things go right, I might be getting lucky this weekend too and I wouldn't want to be zipped in a tent with _Eau de Rocky_ if it happens."

We all stared and looked at Jason with looks of pure confusion. He never really talked about who he was seeing or who he was with, mostly because it was someone new every two weeks.

"What are you talking about?" I asked "I hate to burst your bubble but Aisha's not your type and you're not her type either which only leaves Tri…"

"No, don't say it," Kim threw her hands in the air "Jason didn't want to hear us and I don't even want to _think_ about hearing Jason talking about sex with my best friend."

Those words ended that conversation on the spot because Jason, Kim and I had no interest in discussing what had happened earlier so we all shut up and got back in the cars. Adam was now with Kim and I and Zack was with Rocky and Jason.

We drove on for a couple hours in peace until I got a call from Jason saying that Rocky was hungry and wouldn't stop bitching until we pulled over and ate. It took a couple miles but eventually we came up on a sign for a strip mall with a couple fast food restaurants so I pulled off the freeway and followed the sign's directions to the shopping center.

Kim, Jason and I had decided on Taco Bell with the other three going to a Wendy's on the other side of the parking lot that Jason had dropped them off at. Just as Kim and I had met Jason at his car and were starting to walk towards the restaurant, Kim stopped, threw Jason back against the Suburban and held him there.

"You listen to me and you listen good because I'm only gonna say this once," she hissed "You're one of my best friends and so is Trini but if you hurt her again, I swear to God, I'll tear you limb from freaking limb and that's a promise."

_Again?_ This was the first I had heard of any sort of romantic interest between Jason and Trini but apparently something had happened that I didn't know about. Jason quickly nodded his head and Kim released him from her grip as he slouched against the car.

"Jesus, Kim. We were kids and I made a stupid mistake," he muttered, rubbing the area on his neck where Kim had held him "You fucked up with Tommy and I forgave you. Why can't you give me the same courtesy?"

Kim spun back around like she was going to fire a reply but then stopped, actually thinking about what Jason had said. I was ignorant to both sides of the story but from the brief exchange Jason seemed to have a very legitimate point.

He had never held Kim breaking up with me over her head. In fact, it had concerned him immensely. Enough, in fact, that when he heard through the "Ranger Grapevine" that Kim and I had indeed split, he planned a trip for the two of them back to Angel Grove in the hopes that Kim and I would rekindle whatever was left of "us." And we all know how _that_ little scuba diving trip turned out.

"You're right. You're absolutely right," Kim muttered as she moved back towards Jason and put her arms around his waist "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I owe you the same courtesy you showed me when things went sour between me and Tommy. I just don't want to see Trini hurt again."

"Neither do I, Kim. I really care about her. I was young and I made a stupid mistake in Berlin with a girl I didn't even care about," he answered "I could have never told Trini and she would have never known the difference but I was honest with her because I cared about her. I've spent the last two years trying to rebuild things between us and I refuse to let us fall apart again."

Kim nodded her head and broke the embrace as they both turned to look at me, leaning against the hood of the car. Their looks of embarrassment flushed their faces but they were nothing compared to the one of confusion and shock that I was wearing.

"Anyone care to elaborate for the innocent bystander?" I asked.

"Nope," Jason replied as I turned towards Kim for answers but she held her arms up.

"Sorry, Tommy. It's not my place," she said "As much as I'd like to tell you, I can't. I shouldn't have even put Jason in the position to have to talk about it in front of you."

I wanted to argue but it would have been pointless. Alone, Kim was beatable, but with Jason around acting as a second conscience, I had no chance at breaking her. In an effort to keep me silent, Kim offered to pay for lunch so I conceded defeat. At least for the time being.

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Our goal was to have left Jason's at 9:30 and been at Trini's by 6:30 or 7:00 but having to go back for Zack, stopping for Rocky to eat, Kim having to go to the bathroom twice and just plain crappy traffic had put us at Trini's around 10:00. Not to mention the fact that we picked Aisha up in San Francisco, a city built on shopping, which meant Kim had to at least hit a couple stores.

Between Kim and Aisha's shopping bags, everyone's stuff and the gear we were carrying, the truck had quickly become extremely uncomfortable. As the signs kept telling us we were getting closer to Sacramento, my legs kept aching more and more. Even in the back seat of the truck, completely laid out with Kim sitting in between my legs and leaning against me they were hurting.

I had given the keys to Adam a few hours earlier and he had Aisha up front with him, a turn of events that had been a severe blow to Zack's ego. The real reason why Aisha had never asked Zack to work with her on her music, and no one ever talked about it, was because the pair had tried dating in the past to negative results.

They were friends and Zack still held out for a possible second chance with her but Aisha had told Kim that it was never going to happen between them. She liked Zack as a person but their loud, boisterous, overly social personalities tended to conflict with each other and she seemed to really prefer Adam's quiet, shy, reserved attitude.

I had only been this far north in California a few times and it was the complete polar opposite Southern California. Fields and farmland occupied a good portion of the highway whereas the southern portion of the state was mostly trees and water. How Trini could live here after growing up in a town like Angel Grove was a mystery to all of us.

We pulled up to the two-story Victorian home on the outskirts of Sacramento just a few minutes before ten that night. Trini came out and greeted us all with hugs and kisses on the cheek until she got to Jason who was standing there with a grin like a Cheshire Cat from _Alice in Wonderland_ on his face. He pulled her into his arms and held on to her tightly, placing kisses on top of her head.

Rocky bent over and made fake vomiting noises as Jason shot a glare at Rocky, daring him to continue with his shenanigans but Trini just laughed. She grabbed the back of Jason's head, pulled his face just inches away from her own and then turned to look at Rocky.

"How's this, monkey boy?" she asked sarcastically before locking lips with Jason.

Something about Jason kissing Trini had made me want to kiss Kim and apparently it had had the same effect on Adam and Aisha. While they had never said anything publicly, a few of us had the idea that there was something between them but this was the first any of us had really seen of it. Zack seemed a little taken aback by their show of affection but, in true Zack fashion, he shrugged it off with a joke.

"If you guys don't all knock it off I'm gonna get real lonely and start kissing Rocky," he said with a laugh as a look of horror appeared on Rocky's face.

"I don't know, girls. That might be worth seeing," Trini replied "What do you think, ladies?"

"I don't think they have the balls to do it," Kim answered "They're both little chicken shits if you ask me."

Kim's words had suddenly given Rocky some added courage and he had actually chosen to defend himself against Kim.

"Bullshit. I'm not chicken shit," Rocky shot back "Kim, if you kiss Trini I'll kiss Zack right here if he thinks he can handle a man like me."

Having played "I Never" with Kim a couple weeks ago, Jason and I had to resort to turning around to hide the smiles on our faces. Zack had agreed to the rules, both of them thinking that Trini and Kim would never do it, but they had no idea what they were in for.

"Fine. You asked for it," Kim said seductively, turning towards Trini and grabbing the back of her head. We all stared in shock as she went in for what looked like a hard kiss but just as she got to Trini's lips she turned it into a quick, harmless peck.

"Boo!" Rocky jeered "That was weak!"

"There were never any rules on what kind of kiss it had to be," Kim fired back "And if I'm not mistaken you have a deal to hold up. And if you don't do it, Trini, Aisha and I will make sure this weekend is total hell for both of you."

Rocky and Zack stared at each other apprehensively as we all waited on what was going to be the most awkward moment any of us had ever experienced. Riding a mechanical bull in boxer shorts, socks and a cowboy hat had nothing on this.

"Fine," Rocky grumbled "Let's get this over with."

They both exchanged weird glares again as Rocky slowly leaned in to kiss Zack. Their lips barely brushed but it was enough to send Rocky in a dead sprint for the hose. We all laughed as Rocky flooded his mouth with water and scrubbed his lips with his fingers.

"Dude, you're a terrible kisser," Zack said to him, causing us all to laugh even harder.

"No way. That's bullshit," Rocky replied defensively "I wasn't even trying. Wait, were you trying. Eww, dude you were totally trying."

"So what? I'm comfortable enough in my own sexuality to exchange a kiss with an old friend," Zack shot back as he moved over to Jason, planted a firm kiss on his cheek and watched as Jason's eyes grew wide.

"Zack," he said calmly "I love you like a brother but if you ever do that again I'll make you a Eunice."

Even Rocky, who had been thoroughly grossed out by the whole exchange with Zack, couldn't help but laugh at Jason's comment. Zack even put his hands over the crotch of his shorts to signify that he was indeed taking Jason's threat seriously.

"Glad we could reach an agreement," Jason muttered as Zack nodded his head.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I've seen enough male-on-male interaction to last me another century or so," I interjected and then let out a yawn "And if it's all the same to you guys, I wouldn't mind getting some sleep. We're leaving at eight tomorrow and no matter how prepared we are, getting out of here tomorrow is going to be utter chaos."

"Tommy's right," Trini added, speaking up for the first time since teasing Rocky "We should probably all get some rest. Jason, you're staying with me tonight. There's bedrooms set up for all of you and I hate to say it, but Rocky, you and Zack are going to have to share one of the rooms."

"One bed or two?" Rocky asked hesitantly. Trini went to open her mouth but Jason quickly stepped in and spoke.

"One," he answered "Take it or leave it."

"You know, I think I can handle the couch for one night," he grumbled, walking away and heading towards the house as we all slowly followed him.

"Jason, why'd you tell him there was only one bed?" Trini asked "There's twin beds in all three guest bedrooms. I did that intentionally because in our world you never know what group of people is going to show up at your doorstep."

"I know that," he laughed, wrapping his arm around her and leading her towards the house "But Rocky doesn't."

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_Next time, the camping trip begins. Don't forget to review!_

_-WK_


	9. Fade To Gray

When I had said that it was going to be absolute chaos getting trying to get out of the house by eight, I was terribly, terribly wrong. Absolute chaos just so happened to be the understatement of the century. With eight of us staying in Trini's house, we had all been woken up at 4:00 and that, along with the fact that Kim and I, Jason and Trini and Adam and Aisha had all showered as couples were our only saving graces. The plan had to get up at 5:30 which would have given us all plenty of time to do what we needed to do but, obviously, that wasn't what happened.

Seeing Aisha and Adam go in to the bathroom together had definitely caught us all just a little off guard because, before the previous night, none of us had any idea that there was anything serious going on between the two. As it turned out, they had been seeing each other for quite awhile and even Rocky had been oblivious to the budding relationship which wasn't entirely surprising because Rocky had the tendency to be more than a little thick even to the most obvious of things around him.

Either Zack had gotten over his crush on Aisha real fast or he was just hiding his emotions extremely well because he was the only one who didn't react when Adam and Aisha walked hand-in-hand into the bathroom. He did such a good job of hiding his emotions that it was impossible for any of us, even Jason, Trini and Kim who had known him since they were five, to make any guess as to what he was feeling.

And then there was Rocky. Rocky happened to be the one that had woken up at four in the morning and thought it would be a good idea to pull a Club Jackass move and wake Zack up as "payback" for the previous night. Rocky had quietly snuck in to Zack's room with a feather and shaving cream with the intention of squirting the cream into Zack's hand and tickling his face until he plastered himself with the white foam. It would have been a great prank by club standards but he went apeshit when he saw the second bed and jumped on to Zack.

Zack's recollection of the story was that Rocky's yelling had woken him and then he felt Rocky pounce on him, wrestling him to the ground. Rocky had the edge on Zack due to the element of surprise but by the time we had all ran into the hallway to see what was happening, Zack had turned the tides and had Rocky's arms pinned to the ground. Zack was an act first, ask later type person and the adrenaline kick had been enough to make him try to punch Rocky. Luckily, Jason and I managed to pull him off before he had been able to land any blows. What a way to start the trip, right?

What had started off as a fairly innocent, and widely used by all of us, prank had almost turned into a knock down, drag out fight between two really good friends. It was actually hard for me to believe that the two of them had come so close to blows. The only time I had ever wanted to fight any of my teammates was due to being under some type of spell and each time I had done it, I was extremely remorseful. Rocky and Zack didn't even seem to care that they had almost fought and it actually pissed me off a little. We were supposed to be having a fun and relaxing weekend, enjoying each other's company and catching up but it had already started terribly.

The two of them were fuming and we had to immediately separate them from each other. Jason threw Zack in one room and I took Rocky into another while everyone else took some time to grasp what had just happened before even thinking about getting ready. When Rocky took his shower, Jason made sure Zack stayed in his room and I did the same with Rocky when Zack took his shower. I felt like a freaking babysitter and so did Jason.

The only positive was that we managed to get out of the house at 7:56, four minutes earlier than we had been shooting for due to the early wake up. However, before we left, Jason and I made Rocky and Zack sit down and work everything out before the actual trip started. They hemmed and hawed about it for a few minutes but neither Jason nor I were backing down and after enough persuasion from Jason and I, they finally agreed to talk things out. I left the room but stayed outside the door, putting my ear up to it and waited for one of them to start talking.

"Look, Zack, I'm not going to apologize for obvious reasons but, without apologizing, I will say that I shouldn't have gone after you like that," Rocky muttered.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have. And, also without apologizing, I'll admit that I shouldn't have almost beaten your face in," Zack replied as they both let out a little chuckle.

After that, I stepped back from the door and walked back into the living room to wait with the others. I didn't really care what they were talking about just as long as they were talking and working things out.

When they came out together a few minutes later, we were all sitting on the couch waiting for them. They had their arms around each other's shoulders and were laughing about something none us even wanted to try and understand.

Before we left Trini's, I pulled a small plastic bag out of my duffel bag and got into Kim's truck before she could see what I had. I stared at it's contents and the yellow piece of paper around it as I set it in the glove box and then closed the compartment just before she climbed into the truck.

After leaving Trini's, the first thing on our agenda was to find the nearest McDonald's and get some breakfast because it was still roughly a two hour drive to Truckee and no one wanted to hear Rocky or Zack complain for two hours. Plus, eating always made them both tired and a sleeping Rocky and Zack was just what this drive needed.

McMuffins, hash browns, milk and orange juice were passed around to everyone and Rock and Zack each plowed through three of the sausage, egg and cheese muffins, two hash brown patties and their containers of orange juice in a matter of minutes.

After Kim yelled at Rocky a few minutes for throwing his food wrappers all over the floor of her truck, the rest of the ride was relatively relaxing and peaceful. As we passed through the mountains, I noticed that Zack and Rocky had fallen asleep with Rocky's head on Zack's shoulder and Zack's head on top of Rocky's. I couldn't help but laugh as I reached out to hold Kim's hand, occasionally leaning over and kissing her on the cheek as she drove.

"It's so pretty up here," she said as she stared out at Lake Tahoe.

"Yeah, it sure is. My mom and dad brought me here once when we lived in Arizona. Remember when I always talked about where I wanted to marry you?" I asked as she nodded her head slowly "I was twelve years old when I came here and, at seventeen, I knew I was going to marry you here one day."

She let out a deep exhale as I noticed the sadness in her eyes. Quickly, she turned her eyes back to the road and then proceeded to completely avoid me and my looks towards her for almost ten minutes.

"What did I do, Kim?" I asked quietly "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, Tommy. It's not you. It's me," she muttered back "If I hadn't been an idiot and sent you that letter, I know we would have been married years ago and everything would have been perfect."

"Then let's do it," I replied "My life is perfect with you in it. Marrying you would only make it that much better."

"Are you serious?" she asked in a whisper as she turned towards me "Tommy, we've only been back together for a few weeks. You can't possibly be serious."

"Kim, take the next exit, find the closest store and park the car," I said sternly but careful not to make it sound like anger "I want to show you something and I don't want you to be driving when I do. Plus I don't really want or need Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber back there to hear what I have to say."

Kim didn't ask why or even look at me, she just nodded her head and pulled off at the exit I had instructed her to. As she pulled the truck into the parking lot of a nearby grocery store, I called Jason and told him we were stopping to use the bathroom and that we would be just a few minutes behind them. I reached into my wallet, pulled out a couple twenty dollar bills and then turned towards the backseat.

"Wake up!" I yelled as they both shot up and I stuck the bill out towards them "Take this, go inside and buy whatever you want. I don't want any change just the promise that you'll be gone for at least thirty minutes."

"Fine," Rocky grumbled as he snatched the money "We don't want to hear what you have to say anyway Mr. I-Knew-At-Seventeen-I-Was-Going-To-Marry-Kim."

Rocky and Zack both started laughing and dove out of the car before I could get a hold of either of them. I was half-tempted to go after them but there were more important things to take care of. I took a deep breath and then opened the glove box, pulling out the plastic bag that I had put in earlier.

"I want to show you this so you know how much I love you and how much I've always loved you," I whispered as I handed her the bag "But I don't want you to be weirded out by what you see, either. Promise me you'll take this with an open mind."

"I promise, Tommy," she muttered as she took it and looked at the yellow piece of paper and started reading it "Roger's Jewelry at Angel Grove Pointe. One custom designed ring at…" but I cut her off.

"Not the price. Look at the date," I instructed as her eyes went farther down the receipt.

"November 4, 1995," she read out loud and then it donned on her as she opened the small black box and looked at the ring. "Tommy, you bought this when we were in high school?" she asked in surprise as I nodded my head.

"I told you, I knew at seventeen I wanted to marry you. Kim, I don't want to play the dating game and go through all the stupid rules of courtship with you again because we've already done it once and I'm getting too old for it," I answered "I've loved you since the day I met you and that ring should show you just how serious I am and how I've always been about our relationship."

She didn't reply and instead, pulled the ring from the box and started to examine it. It had a thick gold band and a crown of pink diamonds on top which immediately caught Kim off guard but, upon further inspection, she noticed the outline of a heart on one side with the initials "TK" etched inside of it. On the other side, the numbers 11/18/93 were etched into the gold. I don't know if anyone but me remembered that day but it was extremely important to me.

"Tommy, this ring is so beautiful," she muttered "I don't even know how to react or what to say to any of this."

"Say that you'll marry me," I replied "I'm not saying it has to be now. It could be six months, a year or two years from now for all I care. I just don't want to lose you again and this is the only way that I know will guarantee me that I don't lose you."

"After everything I've done to you and how much I've hurt you, you still want to marry me?" she asked hesitantly.

"I've never stopped wanting to marry you," I answered as a small smile crept across her face "So what do you say, Beautiful. Will you be my Mrs. Oliver?"

"Yes, I will!" she replied instantly as tears filled both our eyes and she threw her arms around my neck "I love you so much, Tommy."

"I was hoping you'd say that," I said, pulling her face back and kissing her softly "I love you too, Kimberly but let's keep this quiet until the weekend is over. If they find out about it now, it's going to be a constant bombardment of questions and I don't want us being engaged to take away from the weekend with our friends. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes, I am," she answered, nodding her head "I was actually going to suggest the same thing. I guess great minds really do think alike."

"I guess so," I replied, taking the ring from her and tucking everything back into the glove box as Rocky and Zack emerged from the store, plastic bags in tow. "What'd you get?" I asked as they climbed into the car.

"Beer. Lots and lots of beer," Zack answered "Enough beer to last us all until we're forty."

Kim and I laughed as they set the bags in the trunk and then fell asleep again, almost instantly. Not knowing if they really were asleep or not, I was careful not to say anything to Kim about what had just happened and we pulled into the campgrounds around 10:30 to find Jason's Suburban parked and everyone standing outside of it waiting for us. As we got out of the car, we all agreed that none of us really wanted to start setting up everything yet so we all went in different directions and agreed to meet back at noon for lunch and then we'd set up.

Jason and Trini had agreed to go to the grocery store for some cookable food because all Jason had packed was dry goods like bread, chips, cereal, the stuff for S'Mores and some sodas. Add that to the plethora of beer Rocky and Zack had purchased and we still didn't have anything that we could use to make a meal so as Jason and Trini drove off, Adam and Aisha decided to go for a walk while Rocky and Zack disappeared a few minutes later leaving Kim and I alone at the camp site. I think she had the same idea I did because without even speaking to each other we immediately started setting up the tent we were going to sleep in.

While I hammered in the stakes and got all the poles in, no pun intended, Kim went to work on inflating the air mattress we were going to share. Twenty minutes later we had finished so I tossed a blanket on the mattress, pulled her into the tent, zipped it up and prayed no one came back sooner than expected.

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Kim and I had fallen asleep after our little encounter and when we emerged from the tent at 12:30, the smell of hamburgers was wafting towards us. Jason, Rocky and Zack were standing over the barbecue, Aisha and Adam were sitting off to the side in lawn chairs and Trini was away from the group completely, leaning against a blue Navigator and talking to someone we hadn't seen before.

"Who's Trini talking to?" I asked Kim quietly.

"I don't know," she answered as Trini shifted a little bit and we saw his face "Holy shit. Tommy, I think that's Billy."

And indeed it was but he had changed dramatically since the last time any of us had seen him almost a year earlier. He had filled out incredibly well, more than likely due to the workout program that he had asked me to write him. I didn't know at the time how serious he was but the man standing there in front of me was all the proof I needed that he had really been serious about getting into better shape. He had also replaced his contacts with glasses but not like the coke bottle ones he had worn as a teenager. They were stylish and Billy looked good.

Kim immediately took off running towards him and Trini and literally threw herself against Billy who struggled to hold onto her and stay on his feet at the same time. Trini turned back around and smiled at me as I started to walk towards them and I returned the smile with a wink and a shoulder shrug.

"Billy. It's good to see you, man," I said as I gave him a hug "But what happened? I thought you weren't going to be able to make it until tomorrow."

"I wasn't. However certain unforeseen circumstances have allowed me to complete my travels sooner than I had anticipated," he answered "There was a disastrous outflow from a faulty drainage system and the floor I am employed on became engrossed with human byproduct."

Kim and I looked at each other and grinned, not really understanding fully what Billy had just said. We immediately turned to Trini, who smiled sheepishly, for a translation.

"Basically what he said is some pipes exploded and flooded the floor he works on with human waste," Trini told us, partially grossed out by the last part "Which is why he was able to get off work early and join us today instead of tomorrow."

"Wait, you mean…" Kim began as she realized what Trini had said "Eww…that is so gross. I couldn't imagine going through that. Ugh. But I'm so glad you're here, Billy. This is so great. I can't believe we're all together again."

"Affirmative. It has been a fantastic turn of events, even if I was ankle deep in fecal matter," Billy replied as Kim winced "I hate to be discourteous but I have not had the opportunity to eat anything since yesterday's supper and I am extremely famished. Would it be possible to eat something before we continue our little reunion? The smell of Jason's cooking has made me crave nourishment."

"He doesn't want to be rude but the food smells good and he's really hungry so he wants to eat before we all play catch-up," Trini interjected, not even waiting for Kim or I to ask for a translation.

"Oh, yeah. I knew that," I muttered as we started walking towards the others "Hey guys, check it out! Billy's here!"

"No shit, bro," Jason shot back "If you would have been awake at noon like we had agreed on, you would have known that Billy had been here since 11:00. If Trini and I hadn't gotten back early, he would have been here alone."

"Just how early were you?" I asked cautiously.

"Early enough," he growled as Trini let out a giggle.

"Damn. Twice in two days," Kim muttered as we grinned at each other "You really are the luckiest guy in the world, Jase."

"Yeah, but that's only because Trini's here," he replied, moving towards her and planting a kiss on her cheek "_NOT_ because of _THAT_."

Luckily, Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Billy and Zack weren't around when Jason and Trini returned from the store so they had no idea what we were talking about. If they did, Kim and I wouldn't have heard the end of it until long after the weekend was over.

Ten minutes later we had cheeseburgers, macaroni salad and chips all ready for lunch. We got our food and sat around the fire pit, munching and catching up with the ones we hadn't seen in a while, mostly Billy, Trini and Aisha.

"So how's NASADA?" Jason asked Billy "Anything big going on?"

"Not that I can really talk about. It's all pretty technical and boring if you ask me," Billy answered "There is one thing that I need to talk with you all about but now really isn't the time for it. I'd really like to just enjoy the long weekend with my friends and not talk about work if that's okay with you guys."

We all nodded our heads in agreement with him. None of us really wanted to deal with anything particularly crazy or serious this weekend, either.

"Wait, wait, wait," I said, shaking my head slowly "That's the first time I've understood a whole statement that came out of your mouth since I've met you but fifteen minutes ago you were talking like 10th grade Billy. What's up with that?"

Billy looked over at Jason, smiled and winked as Jason returned the gesture and nodded his head.

"I simply don't comprehend what you are referring to Tommy. My pattern of speech has remained unchanged from my youth. Perhaps it is you who requires a new vocabulary," Billy replied with a grin as Jason started laughing "Sorry, Jase, I can't keep doing this. I haven't talked like that in awhile. Jason just wanted me to do it to you to be a dick."

"I'm Number One for a reason," Jason added, still laughing as I shot him an unimpressed glare which only made him laugh harder.

"Yeah you are," I shot back with a grin of my own "I would have gone the whole weekend relying on Trini to translate if Billy hadn't said anything."

Everyone laughed a little before we continued our conversation. When lunch was over we disposed of our paper plates and plastic utensils. There was a cooler filled with ice and beer and it took every ounce of will power I had to not start drinking before we had everything set up. Billy, Rocky, Zack, Adam and Aisha went to work on getting the tents set up while Jason, Trini, Kim and I started to search for firewood.

The four of us returned about forty minutes later, Kim's truck loaded with as much wood as it could carry, to find that very little had been done in the way of setting up. Between the five of them, they had only managed to get one tent fully setup and the one they were working on wasn't exactly in the best shape.

The wind had picked up considerably, making it extremely difficult to keep the tents from blowing away during the setup. Out of nowhere, a pretty fierce gust of wind came through and sent the under-construction tent flying across the campground, bouncing and flipping in every possible direction.

"No! Come back you piece of shit!" Rocky yelled as he ran past us towards the fleeing tent "I swear to God I'll kill you when I get my hands on you, you son of a bitch!"

"Woo-hoo! Yeah! Go Rocky! You show that mean tent!" Kim called back as we dropped the wood around the fire pit and shook our heads in unison at Rocky's antics.

"Well, I guess we should probably go help them. There's still one tent to get done before Rocky manages to hunt down that one," Jason muttered as he picked up an extra hammer and some stakes and then turned to me "Let's go, bro."

Somehow, even with the added wind, it only took Jason and I twenty minutes to get both tents set up and it would have taken less time if Rocky hadn't taken so long rounding up the runaway tent. Ironically, just as Jason had hammered the last stake into the dirt, the wind immediately died. It didn't slow down at all, it just stopped.

"That's some shit right there," Jason grumbled as I nodded my head in agreement.

"So what's the plan, bro? You wanna take the boat out on the lake for a little bit?' I asked him.

"Yeah, we can do that. Let's go round everyone up and get changed. I'll hook the boat back up to the truck," he answered as we walked back to the rest of the group "Alright guys. Swim suits and sandals. It's time to take _S.S. T-Rex_ out for a little spin."

_S.S. T-Rex_ was the name of Jason's boat but the name only made sense to us and his parents had questioned him over the red paint and mural of a snarling Tyrannosaurus head on both sides of the boat ever since he had bought it two years earlier. We were all looking forward to getting out on the water so we all got up and disappeared into our tents to change.

As I started to change out of my shorts, I stopped and stared intently at Kim as she slowly pulled her pink tank top over her head. She stared back at me and giggled at the expression on my face.

"What's the matter? It's not like you haven't seen me naked before," she whispered with a grin.

"I know. But every time I look at you, you get more and more beautiful," I replied, pulling her into me and kissing her softly "I still can't believe how lucky I am that I have you in my life like this again. I love you so much, Kim. More than you'll ever know."

"I feel the same way, Tommy," she answered, wrapping her arms around my waist as I kissed her on top of her head "I've missed you so much and, as much as I regret the past, I'm glad it happened because we wouldn't be where we are now if it hadn't."

I nodded my head in agreement, kissed her on the forehead and then finished getting changed. We came out together a few minutes later to find everyone else standing around waiting for us.

"Why do you guys always take so damn long to do everything?" Rocky asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, this coming from the guy who took forty minutes to get one tent up and then spent fifteen chasing another one all around the camp site," I answered and then extended my hand towards him "Hi Pot, my name's Kettle. Pleasure to meet you."

Rocky blushed a little bit as the rest of us laughed, remembering the site of Rocky running around, struggling to keep his shorts from falling down and trying to catch a tent at the same time. Looking at everyone else, it was crazy to see how much we had really all grown up.

Billy's changes in appearance had been the most dramatic and all three girls giggled and blushed over how muscular he had gotten. He had also apparently gained a new self-confidence because every time he overheard one of them saying something about him, he made sure to wink or smile at them and then flex his arm towards them. To be honest, if I didn't know Billy and knew that he was just teasing, I would have been angry but Trini was the only one out of the three girls who would even be remotely close to Billy's type and she seemed rather content on the arm of Jason.

We split up into separate vehicles again, this time Jason, Trini, Kim and I in Kim's truck and the others in Billy's Navigator. It was a fairly quick drive to the boat dock at Lake Tahoe and between driving and getting the boat in the water, it only took maybe twenty minutes to get everything done.

The very first thing I did once we got on the boat was to distribute bottles of beer from the cooler to everyone on the boat except Jason who, unfortunately for him, was driving. He was a little pissed that we wouldn't let him drink but it was Fourth of July weekend, law enforcement was everywhere and none of us really were in the mood to get in any sort of trouble.

Eventually, we found an open spot for Jason to stop the boat and he quickly moved back towards us, tossed an inner tube into the lake and then tied it to the back of the boat. Rocky immediately hopped up and said he was going first as the rest of us rolled our eyes at him.

"Go slow, though," he said to Jason "I just want to sit back, relax and enjoy my ice cold beer and."

"Aye, aye Captain," Jason replied, giving Rocky a quick salute.

Rocky slowly lowered himself into the water, careful not to submerge his beer and then pushed himself towards the tube. With his back to us, Billy nudged Jason out of the way and loosened the knot a little, just enough so that when the boat got going fast enough, it would untie itself and throw Rocky off.

"What are you doing, Billy?" I asked as he looked at me and grinned.

"Joining the club," he answered quickly and then moved to the front of the boat before I could reply.

Jason, Adam and Zack all turned to look at me but I just shrugged my shoulders. None of us knew how Billy had found out about our club but he had and, apparently, he wanted in. If he was indeed serious, this move was a good first step but definitely not enough to become a member. As the boat started to pick up speed, I made a mental note to talk with the other guys to see what they thought and then to Billy to see if he really was serious.

By the time the boat reached 30 miles per hour, Rocky was screaming at Jason to slow down and take it easy but Jason just continued to increase the speed. We came up on a small flurry of waves and Jason quickly cranked the boat towards them, causing more pressure on the already stretched rope. The seven of us who weren't driving stared at the rope intently and just as Rocky's tube connected with the wave, the knot completely untied, literally throwing Rocky a good fifteen feet in the air.

"Soooooon of aaaaaaaa biiiiiiiiii…" he yelled out but didn't get to finish the last word.

His beer had gone flying in a completely different direction and we all cringed as he belly flopped hard into the water. The chorus of laughter was deafening and the look on Rocky's face when he emerged from underwater was priceless. His hair was matted down, partially covering his eyes and his cheeks were bright red.

"What the hell happened back there?" he asked as Jason and I pulled him back into the boat and we tried not to laugh.

"I think I can explain," Billy answered "The knot Jason tied looked a little loose and when I told him that it could be potentially dangerous, he seemed to not really care."

Seven sets of wide eyes turned to Billy in shock but none more so than Jason who had not only been uninvolved in the prank but had just been rolled under the bus by Billy. Two jackass moves in less than ten minutes and I realized that maybe Billy actually was serious.

The rest of the boating excursion went as close to normal as can be expected with nine former Power Rangers involved. We all took turns tubing and I even managed to get Kim to ride on my lap when I went. She had made me promise that I wouldn't let her get wet but after ten minutes of riding and no bumps or waves, I got bored and flipped us over into the lake. When her head popped up from underwater, she looked furious but I grabbed her and kissed her before she could say anything. By the time Jason came back around with the boat to pick us up, she had completely forgotten why she was mad at me in the first place.

A couple hours later and we had all had enough boating and beer for the day. Jason drove the boat back to the docks and hooked it back up to Kim's truck as the rest of us loaded the other stuff into Billy's Navigator. In the process of loading the SUV, I told Kim, Aisha and Trini that the guys needed to talk to Billy alone. Luckily, and quite possibly ignorantly, they agreed and we split up with the guys going in Billy's SUV and the girls going in Kim's truck.

"Okay, here's the deal. There are two questions you have to answer before we consider letting you in," I said to Billy "The first question is, How did you figure out about the club?"

"Kim told me," he answered.

"I knew you never should have told Kim," Jason muttered from the backseat but I ignored him.

"Are you mad that we didn't include you from the beginning?' I asked him.

"Kinda, but I know why you did it. A couple years ago I wouldn't have even wanted to be involved in your little shenanigans but being alone in Turtle Cove at NASADA made me realize how much I missed the camaraderie between all of us," Billy replied "Was that the second question?"

"No," I answered with a head shake "The second question is, How serious are you about wanting to be in the club?"

"Zack, there's two duffel bags in the drunk. Grab the blue one and look inside. You'll see how serious I am," Billy said as Zack grabbed the bag and opened it.

"No way. You can't be serious," he muttered and pulled out the contents "What are you going to do with these?"

I turned around and immediately started to join Rocky and Adam's laughter at what Zack had in his hands. If Billy and I were on the same wavelength, and I was pretty sure that we were, his plan was going to be up there with some of the dumbest, craziest and most undeniably jackass things any of us had ever done. I looked over at Billy and saw that he had the most evil grin on his face that I had ever seen. As the old saying goes, business was _definitely_ about to pick up.

"So, are you guys in?" he asked slyly.

"I don't know about you guys but I wouldn't miss this for the world," Adam answered "And I think I speak for the rest of us when I say, if you do this, you are in, no questions asked."

"I can't wait for this," I added "How many of these did you bring?"

"Five," he answered "And a video camera for one of you to tape it."

"I'll tape it," I volunteered quickly, realizing that that was definitely the safest and smartest idea "When are we going to do this?"

"When they least expect it," he muttered as we pulled up at our camp site.

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When midnight rolled around we were midway through our third case of beer and an inspiring game of "Truth or Dare." It was childish to be playing the game at our age but we were all far too intoxicated to really care.

"Truth or dare, Kim?" I managed to slur.

"Dare," she muttered drunkenly.

"Just what I was hoping for," I replied "I dare you to sleep alone in the tent with Aisha and Trini. No men to make you all feel safe."

"That's a stupid dare," Kim shot back "You must be losing it in your old age."

"Then do it, if it's so stupid," I retorted "Or are you too scared that the Boogie Man's gonna getcha?"

The girls were all in agreement that it was nothing more than a waste of a dare and that sleeping together without their significant others wasn't that big of a deal. What they didn't realize was that my dare had much more juice behind it than I let on to them. It was all a small part of a much bigger plan that the members of Club Jackass had orchestrated.

Eventually, the alcohol had taken it's effect on the girls and they were all starting to get tired. I think all of us were but none of the guys were going to miss what was soon going to happen. A few minutes later Kim came over and kissed me goodnight before disappearing into the tent with Trini and Aisha. We all sat around and talked for close to an hour until we were completely sure that the girls were asleep, and then Billy stumbled towards his car to retrieve the duffel bag. The wobbly movements from all of us made me realize just how much better and realistic our plan was going to be.

Rocky, Adam, Zack, Billy and Jason disappeared into the woods and came back a few minutes later, ready to put the plan into action. Billy made sure that the video camera was recording and then motioned for the guys to follow him to the girl's tent. I could hear them trying to conceal their laughter as they all grabbed a side of the tent and started to shake it as hard as they could. I wished I could have been in the tent to see the girl's reactions but their expressions when they came running out of the tent was beyond priceless.

"What the hell is going on!" Aisha yelled as she ran out of the tent, Kim and Trini close behind her.

"I don't know but this is bullshit!" Trini replied "Where are the guys?!"

"Who cares," Kim shot back "Let's get out of here!"

Billy had managed to get five very familiar gray suits and masks and the sight of Putties after ten years was enough to send all three of the girls into a dead sprint. Quickly, I followed the guys with the video camera as they chased the girls into the woods.

What happened next definitely hadn't been part of the plan but it made the video all the better when the girls turned around and started to fight the clearly intoxicated Putties. If they had been paying attention they would have heard the familiar grunts of their friends as they threw punch after punch and kick after kick at them.

In less than five minutes the three of them had managed to do enough damage to the guys that they weren't even trying to get up from the ground anymore when they got knocked down. I bit the collar of my shirt and it was all I could do not to laugh as I continued to film from the shadows.

Suddenly, Trini disappeared back towards the camp site and then came sprinting back a few minutes later with a coil of rope around her shoulder. Kim and Aisha saw what she had and started dragging the bodies of the guys towards a tree as they let out groans of pain. From my spot in the woods, I saw Kim shoot Aisha and Trini knowing looks as they tied them to the tree.

"Aren't they supposed to, like, disappear when we destroy them?" Kim asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Weird, huh?" Aisha answered as she walked over to one of the guys, but I couldn't tell which one until she pulled off his mask. Ironically, it was Adam. Then Trini pulled off Jason's and Zack's as Kim pulled off Rocky's and then stood in front of Billy.

"Let me guess. Could it be Mr. Oliver under here?" she asked evilly as she pulled off the mask "Billy!? What the hell are you doing. How did you get involved in this and where in the hell is Tommy!?"

"It was Billy's idea," Jason answered as Billy shot him a pissed off glare "Sorry, bro. You already tossed me under with Rocky and the boat. Turnabout's fair play in the world of Club Jackass."

"What's Club Jackass?" asked Trini who was extremely confused.

"Some stupid club Tommy, Jason, Adam, Zack and Rocky made because they're all stupid jackasses," Kim answered "But I can't believe that Billy of all people would stoop so low as to dress like a Putty to try and scare us. William Cranston Junior, I am thoroughly disappointed in you."

"I know," Billy muttered as he lowered his head in shame as the other members stared at him in disappointment. Apologizing for anything you did as a member of Club Jackass was grounds for immediate expulsion which was why Rocky and Zack had refused to apologize earlier and I was worried that Billy was going to get kicked out before he even joined but then he lifted his head up and I saw the same evil smile from earlier on his face. "But it was funny, huh guys?" he asked with a laugh as Jason, Rocky, Zack and Adam all started to laugh with him.

"Quite possibly one of the greatest things I've ever seen in all my years as Jackass Number One," Jason replied as the three girls rolled their eyes at him "So are you going to untie us or what? We had our fun, you had yours, now it's time for all of us to put this behind us, move on and welcome Billy to Club Jackass."

"Oh, you can welcome Billy to your little club all you want because you five are going to be spending some real quality time tied to this tree," Aisha almost spat at them "And if you're lucky we _might_ let you go in the morning. If you're lucky."

I could hear the guys grumbling at the girls and realized if I didn't get out of there quickly one of them was bound to throw me under the bus too. I creeped back through the woods, careful not to make any noise and then hid the camera in one of Billy's duffel bags before climbing back into the tent.

A few minutes later I heard the zipper being pulled down and I closed my eyes as Kim walked in. I heard her climb under the blankets next to me on the air mattress and then felt her push on my shoulder. Trying to play it off like I had really been sleeping, I waited a few moments and then slowly opened my eyes, pretending to be groggy.

"What's the matter, Beautiful?" I muttered sleepily "Couldn't handle being in the tent without me by your side?"

"Tommy, please tell me you had nothing to do with Billy's little plan for your club," she answered quietly.

"Kimberly Hart, I promise you that I had no part in Billy's plan," I replied and then kissed her on the forehead.

"Good," she said, giving me a quick kiss before turning her back towards me and cuddling up against me "Goodnight, Tommy. I love you."

"I love you too, Beautiful," I replied with a grin that surely would have given me away if she was looking at me. Slowly, I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her in closely as I drifted off to sleep with Kim curled up against me, the knowing grin still plastered across my face and the yelling of Jason, Rocky, Zack, Adam and Billy echoing throughout the secluded woods.

They could say whatever they wanted to in the morning about my involvement but I had Kim on my side now and their words were going to fall on deaf ears. I felt a little bad about lying to Kim but it was better than telling her the truth and getting dragged out into the woods and tied to a tree with the five of them who had been too drunk to even put up a decent fight. I was smart and didn't actively participate in scaring the girls and there was no way that I was going to allow myself to join them.

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	10. Groundhog Day

What do you do when you love someone so much that everything they do, every movement they make, every breath they take, every smile and every frown, makes you feel like you're on top of the world? I've asked myself that question since I moved to Angel Grove and met Kimberly Hart on my first day in a new town and at a new school.

Every time I was with her it was like nothing could keep me down. When Rita used the Green Candle to destroy my powers, she was the one to comfort me and tell me how much I meant to her. For once, it wasn't me telling her, she was telling me.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. Rita had created the Cyclops monster and it had the ability to take any shape it wanted and it took them all from the Megazord and Dragonzord to Jason's Tyrannosaurus Zord and Dragonzord in fighting mode.

Jason took a huge risk that day by going into Rita's Dark Dimension and trying to stop the Green Candle before it burnt out, but he just didn't quite make it. Zack had followed him in to the Dark Dimension and told Jason that he had a choice between either saving my powers or saving my life. Obviously, Jason chose the latter and I think he blamed himself, maybe he still does, because I lost my powers that day.

The truth is that I don't blame him and I never did. Jason's been the one consistent that I have always had in my life. When the Zeo team needed a replacement to take Trey's Golden Powers temporarily, Jason was the first person I called. When Andros discovered the remains of the Machine Empire trying to dig up Serpentera, Jason was the first person I called. And when Kim sent me that letter at the Youth Center to break up with me, Jason was the first person I called.

Right before we boarded the _Astro Megaship Mark II_ for the mission to the moon I remember pulling him off to the side and making him promise that if I didn't make it back and he did, that he'd tell Kimberly how I felt about her and look over her for me. Luckily it never came to that because I don't think I could have rested peacefully knowing I never got the chance to tell Kim how I really felt about her.

To this day I still don't think he has gotten over the fact that the Green Candle was within his reach and he couldn't get to it. It's how I feel even today when I look back at Murianthis and remember that I didn't save Jason from being dropped into Maligore's pit. I've been in the same Dark Dimension before that he went into for the candle and I know what it does to your soul. It makes you feel helpless and weak, like there's nothing in the world that can help you.

I think that even if Jason had been able to stop the candle from burning out, Rita still would have come up with a way to drain me of my powers regardless. Obviously it worked out in the end because I got the White Ranger powers and was able to rejoin my friends on the team but every once in a while Jason would give me, and he still does on occasion, an apologetic look like the weight of the world had been on his shoulders and he collapsed underneath it. The truth is, the weight of the world _was_ on his shoulders and we were all just teenagers. I don't know if I could have done better if our roles on that day had been reversed.

Jason's tied to a tree somewhere in the middle of the forest right now and I'm actually starting to feel guilty that I let them all take the blame for something I played a part in, even if it had been to a much lesser degree than the other guys. He's gone to bat for me so many times and I don't think anyone really knows just how important he is to me.

I don't even know why I'm thinking these thoughts right now. Maybe it's the sudden nostalgia of being together again with all my friends, or maybe I'm just guilty that, in three months, it will be the ten year anniversary since Zordon brought me back and gave me leadership over the team. The fact of the matter is I never wanted to be in charge. Zordon could have made me the Rainbow Ranger, last in command on the team and I still would have been happy just to be back with all my friends, fighting the good fight.

When I discovered the red, blue and yellow Dino Gems on my dig with Anton Mercer, it took every fiber of my being not to call him and Kim to take them with me and become Rangers again. Maybe part of the reason Jason and I are so close is because we both feel guilty over some of the things that had happened when we were younger.

There are so many things I did wrong and so many things I wish I could go back and change. There's an old saying that goes something like "Don't ever regret anything because, at one point, it was exactly what you wanted" but I think that's a load of bullshit. I never wanted to lose my powers or Kim to Florida or Jason, Zack and Trini to the Peace Conference in Switzerland, but I did. I think it's fair to regret things that happen that are out of our control.

Every day I wake up and wish I had gotten on the first plane to Florida after Kim sent me that letter to demand an explanation from her and to show her that I still loved her. I regret not going to Florida to see her and maybe, on that day, not seeing her was exactly what I really did want. Maybe the pain of losing my first and only love was too much for me to handle. I remember how excited I was to get the letter until Adam started reading it aloud.

That letter was the reason my relationship with Kat never went anywhere serious and it was the reason I stayed single most of my adult life because I never really believed that Kim and I wouldn't be together someday. When she got out of her truck after Jason and I had gotten back from skydiving it was like a slap in the face, a kick in the balls, a warm hug from an old friend and a soft kiss from the only person you love, all bunched up together into a cluster fuck of emotions and thrown right at my heart.

She's the only person I've ever met, besides Jason, who makes me feel like a better person when I'm around them. We have so much in common outside of our love for each other and that's another reason why I could never get serious with Kat. As much as I cared about her, we had nothing in common outside of our duty as Rangers. Even when I was with Kat or one the girls I dated in college, I always held on to, and never let go of, the hope that Kim and I would be together again.

As she lays next to me in the tent, I can smell her hair as her chest goes up and down with every breath she takes. When I close my eyes, all I see his her beautiful face in my mind, like an old picture you refuse to get rid of. So much has happened in just a few short weeks that I never thought I would have the chance at again because any other woman not named Kimberly Ann Hart, would never have been good enough for me. She's perfect in so many ways and I'm such a lucky man to have her back by my side and I don't think I could ever tell her that enough.

She's got a son now, a cute little five year-old boy that's a ball of energy and goes non-stop until he can't hardly move anymore. He reminds me so much of me as a kid that it's almost like he's my son and not some jerkoff in Florida who never appreciated Kim like I did and still do. It's probably a little presumptuous of me but when Kim and I sit down to plan out our wedding, I think I want to talk to her about me adopting Nathan as my son. In the couple weeks that I've known him he really has become like a son to me and he's just as important to me as any of my other friends.

I'm not an overly religious person but I believe there is some higher power at work that we can't see in our everyday lives. Maybe it's God or maybe it's not but there was something out there somewhere that understood the heartache and pain I went through every day without Kimberly in my life and was good enough to allow us to be together again.

God, I love her so much. Her and Jason are the only people outside of my mom, dad and my brother David that I could honestly say I'd give my own life for.

I remember walking in to that jewelry store on a rainy day in November of 1995 with a high interest credit card and two goals in mind; to find a ring and then to ask Kim to marry me. I had every intention of asking her to marry me on what would have been our two year anniversary but just ten days, TEN DAYS, before I was going to ask her she got noticed by Günter Schmidt in the Youth Center and he offered her the chance to follow her dreams of becoming a famous gymnast and representing her country in the Pan Global Games.

As badly as I wanted her to stay, I would have been a terrible boyfriend and an even worse person if I had told her not to go and to stay with me in Angel Grove so I told her to follow her heart as I got left behind to make payments for the next five years on a ring that I'd never even get to give to her. At least that's what I thought until a few weeks ago when she suddenly came back into my life.

Our friends, Jason, Trini and the others, are going to find out sooner or later, probably sooner, that I asked Kim to marry me and I'm slowly trying to prepare myself for their reactions. I'm pretty sure there's going to be a split between them in reactions, some of them being totally accepting and the others who will say that we are rushing into things way too fast.

But the thing is, I don't feel like I'm rushing into anything by marrying Kim. Sure, we've only been back together for three weeks but when we got drunk, played "I Never" and I kissed her, it was like we had never been apart at all.

When I said I didn't want to play the dating game and go through the silliness of courtship with Kim again, I think it came off a little differently than I wanted. I hope Kim didn't get the impression that I just want to get married and never do anything because, in retrospect, that's kind of how it sounded coming out of my mouth. I still want to do all the things normal dating couples do, I just want to do them with Kim as my wife and not my girlfriend.

Does that make me a bad person? Am I selfish for wanting to marry her even though we've only been back together for a few weeks? There are so many thoughts going through my head and I'm afraid that maybe Kim agreed to marry me because it's what I wanted, not necessarily what she wanted, and because she knew how happy it would make me.

I'm tempted to wake Kim up right now and ask her exactly how she really feels about marrying me but I think if I do that it would do more harm than good. I just hope Kim wants to marry me as much as I want to marry her. I guess I won't really know for sure until the day comes where she says "I Do" and I slip that ring I bought for her as a teenager onto her finger, grab her around the waist and kiss her for the first time as Mrs. Tommy Oliver.

Hopefully that day comes sooner, rather than later because I really like the way Kimberly Ann Oliver sounds. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? They are the most perfect combination of words I've ever heard in my life. I think about how great they sound and I just…

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"Oww, what the fuck?!" I moaned as I felt a sudden pressure on my stomach. As I opened my eyes I realized it was Kim sitting on top of me with a huge smile on her face. "Morning, Beautiful," I said with a smile of my own.

"Good morning to you too, Handsome," she replied as she bent down for a kiss and I obliged "What were you dreaming about? You were thrashing around like it was bad."

"Do you love me, Kim?" I asked, not only surprising Kim but surprising myself as well. I had no idea where the words came from they just came out before I could stop them.

"Of course I do," she answered as she interlocked her fingers with my own "Tommy, what's wrong? This isn't like you at all."

"Did you agree to marry me because it was what I wanted and you just wanted to make me happy? Or was it because you really want to marry me?" I asked, shocked again that I had just asked her that question.

"Tommy what is your deal? Just what in the hell has gotten into you," she shot back as I cringed at the disgust in her voice "I said yes because I want to marry you _not _to feed your ego. I can't believe you'd even question me."

She climbed off me, turning to walk away but I sat up and reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her against me. I wrapped my arms around her and started crying as I buried my face against her body. I felt one of her hands grab me around my waist and the other going around my head as she stroked the back of it slowly.

"Tommy, you have to talk to me. You have to trust me," she muttered "Just tell me what's wrong. I won't make assumptions or be judgmental, I promise."

Slowly, I brought my head up and she reached out to wipe my tears away. I was so embarrassed that I had just lost control like that and I kept trying to jerk my head away but Kim refused to let me take my eyes away from her.

"God dammit, Tommy! Either you talk to me right now and tell me what's bothering you or I'm getting in my truck and going back to Angel Grove without you," she said angrily. I tried to speak but I couldn't get the words out until tears had filled her own eyes as she threw up her arms in disgust and frustration and was already three-fourths of the way out of the tent.

"Kim," I croaked out as she stopped and slowly turned around "Kim. Come back and sit with me. Please don't leave me."

She spun back around and folded her arms across her chest as she stared back at my. My eyes were pleasing with her to sit back down and, eventually, she obliged and took a seat next to me on the air mattress. I reached out to her, taking her ands in my own as I brought them to my lips and kissed them tenderly.

"I'm sorry, Kim. I'm so, so, so sorry. I shouldn't have questioned you or your actions," I murmured embarrassingly "I guess I'm just scared. My whole dream was flashbacks of events from when we were kids. I saw the Green Candle, becoming the White Ranger, Murianthis, our first date, our first kiss, Günter Schmidt seeing you in the Youth Center and me getting the letter in the same place. But the worst thing I saw was you walking away from me at the airport, boarding a plane to Florida and me not even trying to stop you. That was on the eighth of November. I was going to ask you to marry me ten days later. Do you remember what the eighth was Kim?"

I looked up at her as she thought about it for a second and then slowly nodded her head. She sniffled a bit and wiped her face with her shirt sleeve, refusing to let her eyes find mine again.

"It was our anniversary. You asked me to the dance and we kissed for the first time that day. It was right after you gave your Power Coin to Jason," she muttered in reply "Tommy, if I had known you were going to ask me to marry you, I would have never left. I waited for some kind of sign that you wanted me to stay but you just encouraged me to chase my dreams. I understand now that you were just showing how much you loved me but at the time, I took it as a sign that I wasn't as important to you as I thought I was. I wake up every morning and wish one of us had tried to bridge the gap sooner but then I remember if we had, I wouldn't have Nathan and he wouldn't have you. Right before I left on Thursday night to come to Jason's he told me that he loved you and that he wished you were his real dad. Do you have any idea how hard it is to tell your child that he can't see his dad because he's a piece of shit that wants nothing to do with the child he helped create?"

I finally got her to look up at me as our tear filled eyes met each others. I shook my head that I didn't know how it felt and then pulled her in to a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Kim. I feel terrible that I doubted you and brought all of this on," I said softly "Can we just drop all of this and move on please?"

She stood up, wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head. She started walking away and when I called out for her she turned back around and gave me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, Tommy. I can't be with someone who doubts my feelings that much," she muttered "Maybe one day, in a different life we'll be together again but I need someone who has faith in how I feel about them, not someone who doubts me at every turn. Goodbye, Tommy. I love you."

She turned back again and stepped out of the tent. I yelled her name loudly as she started zipping up the tent and I dove for the zipper, trying to fight her from closing it but she was too strong. Suddenly, I could only see her silhouette against the nylon tent and I watched it intently until it started moving away and I could no longer see it anymore.

"Kim! Please don't go!" I yelled as her truck pulled away and then…

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"Oww, what the fuck?!" I moaned as I felt a sudden pressure on my stomach. As I opened my eyes I realized it was Kim sitting on top of me with a huge smile on her face. "Morning, Beautiful," I said with a smile of my own.

"Good morning to you too, Handsome," she replied as she bent down for a kiss and I obliged "What were you dreaming about? You were thrashing around like it was bad."

"It was terrible," I replied, giving the answer I should have given before "It was like a complete flashback of some of my best and worst memories with you."

"Well do you want to talk about it?" she asked genuinely "I promise I won't make any assumptions or be judgmental."

"I know you won't be. Now I understand," I answered as she stared at me with a confused expression "We don't need to talk about it anyway. They're things from the past and I'm more concerned with us now and where we are today, not us back then."

"I love you, Tommy," she muttered quietly "I can't wait to marry you. I've been waiting for my knight in shining armor to come riding in on that white horse to sweep me off my feet ever since we broke up. I never realized that you would always be that person until a few days ago."

I looked up at her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in for another kiss. She laid on top of me, kissing me off and on for a few seconds until I pushed her back into a sitting position.

"I hate to ask you this, Kim," I said quietly as the confused expression returned And I know I've already asked you this before but, will you settle for a white tiger instead of a white horse?"

"I would never settle for a white tiger," she replied as it became my turn to look confused "I don't consider it settling for something if it's exactly what you really want and a white tiger is exactly what I want today and for the rest of my life."

"Good," I whispered "You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear you say that."

She smiled at me and nodded her head as she climbed off me and stood up. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and then put on a baseball cap as she bent down to kiss me again.

"I'm going to start breakfast with Trini. If you know what's good for you you'll be out there helping in the next ten minutes," she replied with a wink and then turned towards the tent's exit.

"Hey, Kim!" I called out as she turned around to look at me "I just wanted you to know that you mean the world to me. I love you, Beautiful."

"I love you too, Handsome," she answered with a sweet smile, ducking outside and zipping the tent up.

I watched her silhouette intently until it was out of sight and when it was, I unzipped the tent a little and peered out, just to make sure she hadn't gone anywhere. Seeing that she was standing next to Trini, flipping pancakes on the kerosene grill, I smiled and fell back onto the mattress, closing my eyes and seeing the image of a familiar face in my head.

_Zordon?_ I thought as the floating head slowly nodded _But how?_

_Where the Power Rangers are concerned, all things are possible,_ I heard him say to me _You and Kimberly are living proof that two people can overcome everything with love. I hope your second chance at this scenario is proof enough that you and Kimberly are meant to be together._

_Wait, what? Second chance? What do you mean second chance? _I asked him _Do you mean that that whole thing with me and Kim wasn't a dream? That it really happened?_

_Yes, Tommy. That is exactly what I'm telling you, _he answered with a smile.

_But how? How is that possible for you to do something like that? _I asked in reply.

_I believe I just told you, Tommy. Where the Power Rangers are concerned, all things are possible,_ he replied _But I think it is more of a physical answer that you seek. If that is the case then I shall tell you this; there are powers at work greater than you or the other Rangers can ever understand. I was in line to become an Eltarian god when I died and that is what I have become. I have always used my powers to help you, now I've just done it in a different way. Now it is time for you to join Kimberly. Tell her that I love her. Tell all the Rangers that I love them since I could never tell you all myself._

I could feel my eyes fill with tears but I knew if I opened them I would lose my connection with Zordon and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him yet. Not when I had him in a position where I could finally tell him how I felt about him. Not getting to say goodbye to Zordon properly was one of the few things I looked back on and regretted completely.

_Zordon, I just want to thank you and let you know how much you mean to me. You've done so much for me and I wouldn't be who I am today if you hadn't allowed me to be a Ranger, _I said to him_ Not saying goodbye to you and letting you know how I felt before you did was one of the worst things that ever happened to me and now that I can talk to you here, I want you to know I love you like a father. I miss you, Zordon, but the wisdom, knowledge and advice you gave to me has given me the strength and confidence to become who I am today. I can't thank you enough for that. Goodbye, old friend._

_Goodbye, Tommy. Don't forget to tell the Rangers I love them_ he replied as I nodded my head and slowly opened my eyes, losing my connection with Zordon.

Smiling to myself, I rolled off the mattress, stood up and reached into my duffel bags for some clothes. I pulled on a pair of black sweats, a white sweatshirt and my nice and warm moccasins. I grabbed one more thing out of my bag and then stepped out of the tent quietly.

Trini, Kim and Aisha were standing over a couple of the kerosene grills, cooking breakfast while the guys stood around throwing a football back and forth. Slowly, I crept up softly behind Kim, careful to make sure she didn't hear or see me and then I threw the shirt around her and pulled her into me. She turned back and smiled, kissing me on the cheek as she huddled under the old green flannel jacket. I grinned sheepishly when she brought the sleeve up to her nose, inhaled deeply and smiled brightly.

"Zordon says he loves you," I whispered into her ear as she instantly spun around to face me "I can't explain it so don't ask how. All I know is when you left the tent a few minutes ago, I closed my eyes and then I was talking to Zordon. Before we said goodbye he made me promise I'd tell you and the others that he loved you."

"Are you going to tell the others?" she asked as I nodded my head "When?"

"Right now," I muttered in reply "Hey guys! Can you all settle down and come over here for just a minute or two? I have something to tell all of you."

Jason nodded and tossed the ball to Rocky as they came jogging over with Zack, Adam and Billy. Trini and Aisha joined them as they stood around, waiting for me to tell them what was so important. Kim gave my hand a quick squeeze as I looked at her, took a deep breath and smiled.

"What's up, Tommy? What's the deal?" Zack asked.

"I don't really know how to tell you this or even how you're going to react. You'll probably all think I'm freakin Looney Tunes and I wouldn't blame you if you did. The truth of the matter, guys, is I spoke to Zordon," I began as they all stared back at me, mouths hanging wide open "I don't expect you to believe me but it's true. It was some weird connection or vision and he told me that he became an Eltarian god after he died and that he's watching over us and keeping us safe. He also wanted me to tell you that he loved you all."

"Tommy, I don't know whether you're being serious right now or not, but if you aren't you're picking a shitty thing to joke around about," Jason said softly "You know none of us got to say goodbye to Zordon before he died and how much it tore us all up."

"Yeah, I do. Because it tore me up just as badly. This isn't a subject I would lie to you guys about," I replied "Zordon just made me promise I'd tell you that he loved you. All I'm doing is keeping my promise to him. If you don't believe me, that's fine but I held up my end."

"Well, if you talk to him again," Jason began "Tell him that I love him too."

"Yeah, tell him I love him too," Trini continued.

"Same goes for me," Adam whispered.

"And me," Zack added.

"Tell him I loved him like my own dad," Aisha said softly.

"Tell him the same thing for me, Tommy," Rocky added.

"Guys, I think he knows," Billy finished, pointing towards a cluster of clouds that had started swirling "Check it out. That's incredible."

We all looked up and watched as the clouds came together to form Zordon's head. He gave us all a smile and an understanding nod as we returned the gesture. And just as soon as he had appeared, the clouds started to swirl again and he was gone.

"He was such a great man," Kim muttered "I still can't believe he's gone."

"You're wrong, Kim," I replied, catching her by surprise "He wasn't a great man, he was an incredible man. And as we all just saw, he's clearly not gone. He's watching over us, protecting us and keeping us safe just like he has always done."

Kim gave me a knowing nod as I pulled her against my side and kissed her on the forehead. The others all looked at me with smiles and head nods of their own as I returned the gestures to each of them.

Zordon had given me a second, or maybe third, chance to make things right with Kim and I wasn't going to let Kim down and I definitely wasn't going to let Zordon down. As I took a plate of sausage and pancakes from Trini I sat down and, for the first time in a long time, I closed my eyes and reflected on just how blessed I truly was.

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_Wow, two in less than eight hours? How lucky are you guys? LOL. Please remember to review, guys. I really like knowing what you're thinking about the story._

_-WK_


	11. S'Mores, Songs and Shenanigans

Nine chairs, only eight of which were occupied, sat around the bright orange flames of the huge fire that was illuminating the campsite. Kim was the only one who wasn't with us. She had gone into our tent after dinner a couple hours earlier, right around eight, to take a nap with the promise she'd join us again when she woke up.

It was now ten-thirty, Kim still hadn't come out and I'm pretty sure the look on my face showed how much I was longing for her company. I wanted to spend every moment for the rest of my life with her and Jason and Trini had given me sympathetic and understanding smiles. They were the closest that anyone could come to understanding just how much things change after such a long and unwanted separation.

They had become just like Kim and I when it came to showing their affection for each other, where in the past none of us would ever do anything more than hug in front of the others. I saw Jason squeeze Trini's hand before he leaned over to kiss her and seeing that display of affection just made me want Kim by my side that much more.

Fortunately for me, I heard the tent being unzipped a few minutes later and my smile was clearly showing how excited I was to see Kim. After everything that had happened that morning with Zordon I had suddenly developed a new outlook on life. I promised myself that I would no longer worry about the silly and trivial things that used to really get me going.

"Pick your battles" my mom had said to me as a teenager. At the time, I didn't have the luxury of picking any of my battles because they always seemed to find me so her words had fallen on deaf ears. But now that I was older, he words were beginning to make more and more sense. I think that's how it is with all parents and the advice they give their kids. The kids listen but they don't understand until something comes along that snaps them out of their ignorance and naïveté and makes them realize that what their parents had told them may actually have some credence.

I was expecting Kim to immediately come over to where we were all sitting but as soon as she had stepped out of, and closed, the tent she started walking towards her truck. My eyes caught Jason's as he tipped his head towards Kim, telling me to follow her without words. I nodded my head and jumped out of the chair to go after Kim.

"Hey, slow down there, Beautiful," I called out as I jogged towards her and she turned around "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Nowhere. I just wanted to be alone for a few minutes to think about things," she answered quietly, pulling down her tailgate as we both sat down on it "Living in big cities my whole life I never got the chance to really enjoy just how beautiful places like this really are. There are no big buildings, no traffic or smog. The air is so fresh and you can see for miles."

"I know. That's why I want to marry you up here. It's one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen and it'd only be fitting if I got to marry the prettiest girl that I've ever seen in one of the prettiest places I've ever seen," I murmured as a smile crept across her face and I reached out for her hands "I could live like this forever, ya know. Just you, me and Nathan. I like the idea of us as a family, Kim."

"So do I. I don't think we really appreciate things until they're taken away from us," she whispered "And now that I have you back in my life, I'm never gonna let you go again."

"God, you sound like me. Maybe I'm starting to rub off on you," I replied with a grin.

"You've been rubbing off on me since we were sixteen, Tommy," she muttered back and then hopped off the tailgate "Come on, let's go back. We were way too drunk for S'Mores last night and I've been craving them since we started planning the trip."

I smiled at her as I stood up and closed the tailgate before wrapping my arm around her. Just as we got past the truck she motioned for me to stop as she walked back and opened one of the passenger doors. She slid the backseat forward and reached in for something that I couldn't see. After shifting things and digging around for a few seconds she emerged with her old guitar case.

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked, putting my arm around her again "You planning on serenading all of us tonight or what?"

"I was thinking about it, yeah," she answered "Why? Do you not want me to or something?"

"I don't recall saying that. I love when you sing, I always have," I retorted "Remember when we defeated Guitardo and you and Zack sang me that song in the Youth Center? I still remember the words and how special you made me feel that day."

"That was the only time I ever sang that song. I tried to do it a bunch of times after that day but I never could get all the way through it," she muttered back "The song just never had any value without the person I wrote it for around to hear it. Maybe one day I'll play it for you again but not today. I'll probably cry if I play it and now definitely isn't the time for water works."

I let out a small laugh and kissed her on the cheek as we rejoined the group around the fire. Everyone either had a marshmallow over the fire or a S'More in their hands except for Rocky who was eating the marshmallows straight from the bag that was sitting in his lap.

"Jesus, Rocky, you really like sticky white stuff huh?" I asked with a chuckle as Rocky's mouth opened and the half-chewed marshmallows slowly started to fall out "Dude, keep it in your mouth. Real ladies don't spit."

"You're sick, bro," Jason muttered as they all started to laugh "So what's with the guitar, Kim? You planning on serenading us tonight or what?"

Kim shot Jason a glare and then looked over at me as a smile formed on my face. No one but the three of us even had a clue as to just how similar Jason and I really were.

"Maybe in a little bit," she shot back "Right now all I want is two graham crackers, a piece of overly sweet chocolate and a marshmallow that is going to instantly going to clog my arteries."

"But I want an Oompa-Loompa now, daddy," Adam whined in a fake English accent as he gave Aisha a smile "Gooses. Geeses. I want my geese to lay golden eggs for Easter."

"I want the world. I want the whole world," Aisha added in a sing-song voice "I want to lock it all up in my pocket, it's my bar of chocolate. Give it to me."

"Shut up, guys," Kim fired back as we all started laughing again "Gimme those," she continued, snatching the bag of marshmallows from Rocky's lap as he got a look on his face like someone had just run over his dog.

We sat around the campfire for a little while, roasting marshmallows, eating our less-than-healthy snacks and exchanging jokes and laughs. Then Kim reached behind her chair and grabbed her guitar again, pulling it over her head as she leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Will you sing with me, Tommy?" she asked in a whisper.

'You know I cant sing, Beautiful. But I'll try," I whispered back and then kissed her on the top of her head.

She pulled a pick from the neck of her guitar as I looked around the group and saw that everyone had immediately quieted down. They all had smiles on their faces and seemed to be looking forward to Kim playing.

Even when we were kids and saw each other everyday it was a rare treat to get to hear Kim play guitar and sing for us. And now that we're adults, it was even rarer thus making it that much more special when we got to hear it. I smiled brightly at her as she started strumming on her guitar.

"I've paid my dues, time after time. I've done my sentence, but committed no crime," Kim and I sang in unison "And bad mistakes, I've made a few. I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I've come through."

"And I need to go on and on and on and on," Aisha and Adam added as Jason and Trini joined them "We are the champions, my friend. And we'll keep on fighting till the end. We are the champions, we are the champions. No time for losers, cause we are the champions…of the world."

Kim continued to pick at her guitar as we all pulled our chairs closer together. Jason put his arm around Trini who put her arm around Zack and eventually everyone had an arm around someone's shoulder except for Kim for obvious reasons.

"I've taken my bows…and my curtain calls. You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it and I thank you all," we continued, this time with Rocky, Zack and Billy jumping in too "But it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise. I consider it a challenge before the whole human race and I ain't gonna lose. And I need to go on and on and on and on."

_We are the champions, my friend._

_And we'll keep on fighting, till the end._

_We are the champions, we are the champions._

_No time for losers, cause we are the champions…_

_Of the world_

We all looked at each other, smiling as Kim finished the song and it would have been a very somber and special moment if not for Rocky. He was smiling too but it wasn't a smile like the rest of us were wearing. It was that damn Cheshire Cat grin again and I should have seen it coming when he reached into the sweater of his hoody, pulled out a water balloon and hit Jason square in the chest with it.

Jason looked down at the water marks on his shirt, loose pieces of rubber sitting in his lap as he looked at Rocky and took a very deep and elongated breath. He looked over at me and smiled and I knew Rocky was a dead man. Jason popped up from his chair and literally jumped over the fire as Rocky got up and bolted into the woods.

"He's so dead," Jason muttered as he walked off in the opposite direction.

None of us had any clue what he was doing until he disappeared in to the trailer that was attached to the Suburban. The loud rumbling of an ATV starting echoed throughout the camp site as Jason rode it slowly down the ramp and then took off as fast as he could into the woods.

"So do we follow them and make sure he doesn't butcher Rocky or do we wait here and clean up the mess?" Zack asked with a grin.

"I'm not going anywhere. If Jason kills Rocky it's just one less headache I have to deal with," Adam muttered as a few of us laughed "No more coming into the house at three in the morning with whatever girl is willing to come home with him. No more raiding the fridge until there's nothing left. Please God, if you're out there, let Jason kill him."

It didn't take long for an answer as to what happened because a few minutes later the rumbling of the ATV came back. The headlights on the vehicle came back into sight thirty seconds later with Rocky hogtied to the back of the ATV.

"Jason, I said I was sorry!" Rocky yelled as they continued past us without stopping and Rocky tilted his head towards us "HELP! PLEASE!"

It was almost midnight and none of us had any idea what Jason could be planning to do to his successor but none of us were going to miss whatever it was. I stood up, grabbed Kim's hand and pulled her with me towards the trailer as the others followed suit. Kim and I hopped on one ATV as Aisha and Adam climbed on another followed by Billy and Trini and then Zack who was riding alone.

We took off down the trail that ran through the woods as we tried to catch up with Jason. He had a decent head start on us but he was also going slower than us too. With Rocky tied to the ATV he was at least being careful enough to not go too fast and risk tossing Rocky off. It would have been a hospital visit and the end of our trip if Rocky fell off the ATV and none of us, including Jason, wanted that. We were having way too much fun to end the trip early.

By the time we caught up to them, Jason's ATV was parked and he was standing over the still tied Rocky with an intent look on his face. Immediately, I climbed off the four-wheeler and jogged over to where Jason was standing.

"What are you going to do with him?" I asked as I slowly observed where we were and realized what he had in mind "I'm not gonna stop you, just untie him before you do it."

"If I untie him then there's a chance he'll get away," he muttered.

"If you don't untie him there's a chance he'll drown and I don't think you want that hanging over your head," I continued with a grin "Here, throw him over your shoulder and I'll untie him when you're ready, okay?"

"Don't do it, Jason. Tommy don't let him do it," Rocky pleaded as Jason looked at me, smiled and tossed Rocky over his shoulder "I swear to God I'll kill you both if you do this. Guys, please. Have a heart."

"You got me wet, now it's time for me to return the favor," Jason answered as he slowly walked down the dock.

I turned around and looked at the others who were all smiling, waiting to see what happened. I gave them a shoulder shrug and a quick smile as I turned back around and started jogging towards Jason.

"Hey Zack! Adam! Billy! Come here I need your help!" Jason called out as the pair nodded their heads and walked over to us "Guys, when Tommy unties him, I need you to hold him down for me."

The trio nodded in understanding and as Jason set Rocky down they grabbed a hold of him while I untied the rope. As soon as the rope was off Rocky immediately started to struggle but he wasn't strong enough to fight all three of them. Jason stood over the top of him and pulled Rocky's shirt off before moving to his shorts. I almost died from laughter when Jason pulled down Rocky's shorts and revealed Rocky's choice in undergarments.

"I'm rooming with Blue, sir. And I noticed that he wears those leopard spotted underwear, bikini style, sir!" Billy called out, quoting _Remember the Titans._

"You have got to be shitting me," I muttered as I doubled over and grabbed onto my side "Jason, put his shorts back on. I can't watch this."

"Nope," Jason replied "Zack, take his clothes back to your ATV. Rocky's going for a swim and then he's going to have a nice five mile walk back to the camp site in his cute little panties. I sure hope there's no one out to see you, bro. Hey girls, I need one of you!"

The three girls looked at each other, none of them wanting to be involved but Kim and Aisha pushed Trini towards us, probably because it was Jason's idea. As Trini approached us, Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a small digital camera.

"You want me to take pictures of Rocky in a thong?" Trini asked as Jason handed her the camera and nodded "Fine. Let's just get this over with."

Trini snapped a few pictures and then handed the camera back to Jason and walked away. She shot Kim and Aisha an evil glare as they smiled and laughed at her.

Jason picked Rocky back up but now he had given up fighting and had finally begun to accept his fate. Just as Jason got to the edge of the dock Rocky started beating his fists against Jason's back but it was too little, too late.

"Noooooooo!" Rocky called out as he went flying through the air and made a huge splash in the lake.

"Take care, buddy," Jason muttered as Rocky's head appeared from the water and Jason held up one finger, signifying his position in the club "Let's go guys."

We all turned back around and walked towards the fleet of ATVs. Kim gave me a kiss and a smack on the butt as she climbed on behind me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I can't believe you guys just did that," Kim whispered as she rested her head on my back "You guys really are a bunch of jackasses."

"Yeah, but I'm your jackass now and you're stuck with me," I answered with a grin as we drove through the woods.

As soon as we got back to the camp site Jason went into his tent and came back a few minutes later with a small can of shaving cream and a black Sharpie. He grabbed Rocky's clothes from Zack and started covering the front of his shirt and shorts, using the whole can of shaving cream. He pulled some clothespins from his sweats and then hung the garments from the clothesline we had strung between two trees on the day we got there.

_SUCKS FOR YOU!_ Jason wrote in big black letters on the back of Rocky's shirt followed by _SHITTY, BRO._ on the legs and butt of his shorts.

It was now almost one-thirty in the morning and none of us but Jason wanted to be awake. He was intent on paying Rocky back but we managed to get him to stop short of pouring honey into Rocky's duffel bag and then leaving it out for some mountain creature to get into.

Kim and I said our goodnights and then started to walk towards our tent. I took one last look at Rocky's clothes, smiled and shook my head before unzipping the tent for Kim and I. As soon as the tent was zipped back up I pulled Kim close and started kissing her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and started returning the kisses.

"Do you think you can be quiet?" Kim asked in a whisper with a smile "You know Jason will be pissed to no end if he hears us for the third time in three days."

"It's not me I'm worried about Ms. Moans-a-Lot," I muttered with a grin of my own as I fell back onto the mattress and she sat on my stomach. "Come here, you," I grumbled, pulling her into me and flipping her over onto her back as I started kissing her again.

She reached up and pulled my shirt off as I reached down to slide off my shorts. As she pulled her own top off, I stared back intently and grabbed her around the waist. At that moment I just had to have her and nothing was going to stop me.

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I should have known that being tossed into Lake Tahoe at midnight wasn't going to be enough to end the war between Jason and Rocky. However, I didn't think Rocky would attack so soon or in the way he did. Luckily, Trini was safely out of the tent, and Rocky's way, making coffee when he tied a rope to the back of an ATV and then attached it to Jason's tent.

"Rocky, come on man. It's way too early for this shit," I grumbled as Kim and I stepped out of our tent.

He didn't even acknowledge me as he hopped on the ATV and started it up. I didn't know whether to laugh or be worried when Rocky drove off, dragging the tent as Jason's screams echoed throughout the camp site. Kim looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, wrapping her arm around my waist as we got some coffee and took our seats around the morning campfire.

"What the hell is going on?" Zack muttered as he exited his tent and looked around "Where's your tent, Trini?"

She shrugged her shoulders and pointed in the direction Rocky had driven off in. Zack shook his head, poured himself some coffee and joined us around the fire. Within the next fifteen minutes, Billy, Adam and Aisha had all joined us and I explained what had happened to Jason.

"We better be on guard, guys," Adam noted "All of us but Kim and 'Sha played a part in last night and if I know Rocky, he won't rest until he's gotten all of us back."

We all nodded our heads in agreement and a few minutes later we heard the ATV getting closer. There was no more screaming as Rocky pulled up, still dragging the tent behind him and we all turned to see what was going on. He hopped off the ATV with a broad grin on his face as he walked towards us.

"Don't worry, guys. I didn't forget about you," he said to us as he grabbed a couple pieces of rope hanging from a tree and yanked on them "Thanks for playing."

We all looked up at the branches hanging over our heads as both our ice chests tipped over and dumped water on all of us. I immediately stood up to go after Rocky but Kim grabbed me, pushed me back down and stood up to face him.

"That's it! I've had enough of this!" she yelled loudly "If one more person does one more stupid thing like they'll have to get a search and rescue team to find the bodies. You've all had your fun now it's time to end it."

Kim was steaming but the sight of Jason doubled over and stumbling out of the tent was enough to change her expression. We all burst into laughter as Jason grabbed onto the nearest tree and threw up all over the ground. It was gross, but the humor seemed to outweigh the grossness and none of us could stop laughing at him.

Normally, we would have all been concerned for what Jason was going to do to Rocky but he was way too disoriented to mount any sort of comeback at the moment. He shot Rocky a deathly glare as he grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste from one of the tables and walked away from us. The sight of Jason stumbling out of the tent had been enough to make us forget we were drenched but the squishing sound of water in my shoes quickly snapped me back into reality.

"I'm going to change," I grumbled as I stood up and pointed at Rocky "You have no idea how lucky you are that Kim intervened."

"He's right, Rocky," Kim muttered as she stood up to follow me "You know that he'll get you back eventually and I won't always be around to stop him."

"Ooooh, I'm so scared," Rocky shot back as we disappeared into the tent.

"I love you, Kim," I said softly as I pulled my wet shirt over my head and grabbed my towel.

"I love you too, Tommy," she answered, leaning in for a quick kiss which I happily gave her "Just make sure when you get him, that it's a good one."

"Oh, it will be. I can promise you that," I assured her with a smile "But this isn't going to be some stupid prank. I'm going to plan it out and when I get him, he'll never want to fuck with me again."

We came out of the tent a few minutes later to find everyone else sitting around the campfire in dry clothes. Somehow they always managed to do things quicker than us. As soon as I got close enough Jason grabbed two beers and tossed one to both Kim and I.

"Don't you think it's a little too early for beer?" I asked, subconsciously tapping on the top to knock down the foam before opening it.

"Nope. It's ten a.m.," Jason answered "Plus, it's the Fourth of July. We're all getting fucked up today."

I looked at Kim, smiled and shrugged my shoulders as I popped the top on the can of beer and took a drink from it. With the way things had gone that morning I knew it was going to be a long, long day and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through it sober anyway.

Kim had the same idea as she wrapped her arm around my waist, opened her own beer and chugged it in less than ten seconds. I let go of her in shock as she let out a huge belch and tossed the can into one of the trash bags we had laying out.

"Impressive," I muttered as Kim stood on her toes, smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was going to be a long day indeed.


	12. How To Save A Life

Excerpt from The Fray's "How to Save A Life"

_Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend  
Somewhere along in the bitterness  
And I would have stayed up with you all night  
Had I known how to save a life_

Does Tommy have what it takes to save a life?

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I don't care who you ask or what they tell you, eighty feet is a _long_ way to fall even if there is a large body of water underneath you to land in. Somehow, Rocky managed to convince us that it would be a fun idea to hike eight miles to the top of a huge cliff overlooking some random river and then jump from the top of it into the blue abyss below us.

It had to have been the beer talking because, under normal, and sober, circumstances, none of us would have believed jumping eighty feet into the river to be a good idea. _Yep, it's the beer. It's definitely the beer_ I thought to myself as I peered over the ledge and looked down. It was a long, long, long way to the bottom.

I've never overly afraid of heights but the alcohol in my system amplified any buried fears I had about making the jump. I don't exactly know why I was scared, I had gone skydiving on numerous occasions and had commanded the Falcon Zord, but something just didn't sit right with me. Apparently, in the ten minutes we had spent at the top of the cliff, I developed some kind of nervous twitch that only came about when I looked over the edge.

Kim and I were sitting on a small little incline off to the side, looking at Rocky who had his back to the water and was facing us. He smiled, muttered something neither of us could hear, waved goodbye and launched himself into a back flip. I shook my head at the lack of understanding as to how someone could do that without any fear at all. I must have had that look in my eyes that said I was nervous because I felt Kim's hand on the small of my back, rubbing it reassuringly.

"He's fucking nuts," I muttered without looking at her "There's no way in hell I'm doing that shit. You couldn't pay me to jump off of this damn cliff. We don't even know how deep the water is down there. What if it's shallow and someone ends up dying?"

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't want to do it either," Kim began "Normally, I'm not scared of heights but this is ridiculous even by our standards."

I nodded my head in agreement and leaned over, kissing her on the cheek as Zack jumped next. He yelled loudly and then it slowly got quieter until it stopped and we assumed he had hit the water. Adam gave us a thumbs up and I nodded my head towards him as he approached the ledge and jumped next.

Eventually, everyone had jumped leaving only Kim and I behind. We had decided to take the long way down by hiking back instead of making the eighty foot plunge into the river. If it hadn't been for the stupid incline we were sitting on, that plan would have come to fruition.

I stood up and dusted myself off a little as I turned around and took small, careful steps up the small hill. Unfortunately, Kim didn't follow my lead. She took a bad step and slipped, falling on her back and smacking her head against the rock before rolling down the hill. I turned around and tried to get to her but I was too slow and she disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

"KIMBERLY!" I yelled as I ran to the edge of the cliff. I watched as Kim went underwater and as soon as she popped back up the current started to carry her in the opposite direction of the others. "Son of a bitch," I muttered as I took a step back and then launched myself head first towards the water.

As soon as I came up from underwater I started swimming after Kimberly. I started yelling for her but she wasn't replying and the thought of her smacking her head and possibly being knocked out sent me into over drive. My arms moved faster and faster as I tried desperately to catch up to her.

The current was carrying her all over the place but I was steadily gaining ground on her. I watched in horror as her head went underwater and I forced my arms to move even faster. Taking a deep breath, I dove underwater and opened my eyes to see Kim floating further down in the river.

I was quickly losing my breath and the lack of oxygen forced me to come back up for air. The others were yelling at me and running along the side of the river but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

_Think, Tommy. Think. _I urged myself as I took another deep breath and I got an idea.

"I hope this still works," I muttered "Ninjetti Falcon!"

I felt the rush of power wash over me as the familiar white robes covered my body and I hoped the others hadn't seen me do that. I didn't want to have to answer a bunch of questions for something I couldn't even try to explain anyway.

Taking one last breath, I closed my eyes and prayed my Ninjetti Streak would work underwater. As soon as my head got underwater I immediately saw the distant shape of Kim slowly floating towards the bottom of the river. Swimming after her, I focused on my powers and was pleasantly surprised, although not at the time of course, to find myself shooting towards her faster than I could have gone without the added boost.

Her body quickly became more and more visible and as soon as I was close enough, I reached out towards her and grabbed her around the waist. My powers must have been unstable because as soon as I grabbed her I felt the extra power go away and I quickly stole a glance at my body which was no longer covered by the white robes. Getting to Kim had been easy but getting her out of the water was going to be a lot tougher without any powers.

I was quickly running out of air again and getting to the top became increasingly difficult with the added cargo I was carrying. Somehow, I managed to get to the top with Kim in tow just before I completely ran out of air. The darkness had already begun to set in when my head emerged from underwater. All I could do was pray that Kim would be okay as I laid on my back and started pulling her towards shore.

It took a few minutes but I got there eventually and managed to hand Kim off to Jason as Zack and Adam helped pull me from the water. I thanked them quickly and then immediately ran to where Jason had laid Kim down. He was kneeling over the top of her, listening for a heart beat and giving her mouth-to-mouth. I have to admit, it was a little weird watching my best friend do that to my girlfriend but there was nothing I could do to stop it even if I wanted to.

"Tommy, I'm so sorry, man," Rocky muttered as he put a hand on my shoulder "This wouldn't have happened if I hadn't suggested we do this."

"Not your fault," I managed "You had no idea."

He could tell I wasn't in the mood to talk. My eyes were focused straight ahead and I was barely moving and I think he got the hint because he walked away a few seconds later. I stared intently at Jason and as much as I hated seeing what he was doing, he was also the only person I trusted with Kim. He had been a paramedic while he struggled to get noticed on the professional fighting scene and my only comfort was that he knew what he was doing.

My eyes slowly started to fill with tears. Jason was working hard to save my girlfriend's life and there was nothing I could do to help. Every few seconds someone would walk by, place a hand on my shoulder and offer reassurances but I never broke my focus from Kim.

Something caught my eye off in the distance, probably a bird but I wasn't sure and as soon as I turned my head to look at it I heard the most comforting sound I'd ever heard before, a cough. Kim's cough. I spun around immediately and dove to her side as her coughs that were soft to start quickly grew louder and more violent. She was spitting up water and Jason quickly instructed me to keep her head elevated so I put my hand behind her head and kept it up as high as I could.

Kim's coughing and Jason's order barking was enough to draw the attention of the others who quickly formed a small circle around us. Eventually, the coughing and regurgitation subsided and Jason told me that it was okay to lay Kim's head back down.

"Shhh, Beautiful. It's okay. You're safe now," I muttered, stroking her hair as she tried to keep her eyes open "Just relax, baby. Everything is going to be okay."

"Ugh, what happened?" she groaned, ignoring my advice "Where am I? Why are my clothes wet?"

Jason gave me a reassuring head nod and a pat on the shoulder as he got up and signaled for the others to leave Kim and I alone. I spent the next ten minutes stroking Kim's hands, explaining and then re-explaining what had just transpired.

"And you saved me, Tommy?" she asked quietly as I felt my heart drop.

"I dove in after you and pulled you out but Jason is the one who got you to regain consciousness," I muttered "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you, Kim. This is all my fault. I never should have even agreed to go with them. If I hadn't gone neither would you and none of this would have happened. I'm so, so sorry, Beautiful."

"Tommy, this is _not_ your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's mine for being so careless," she groaned and I could tell she was in pain "You can not beat yourself up over this and I won't let you. Just kiss me and tell me you love me."

"I love you, Kim. I love you more than anything in the world," I managed to squeak out as I bent down and kissed her softly "I'm never going to let you get hurt again, I promise."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Tommy. I said kiss me and tell me you love me not make promises you know you can't keep," she shot back, causing me to back off a little "I'm sorry, that came out the wrong way. But the truth is you won't always be there to protect me. I could be going to work and get hit by a bus and there wouldn't be a damn thing you could do to help me. I just…I guess I've put so much emotional investment into the promises of others and I've seen how easily they're broken. I just can't let my guard down like that again."

"Kim, whether you realize it or not, you let your guard down the second you kissed me and let me back into your life," I replied firmly but with care in my voice "I love you and as long as I'm alive I will always be there for you."

"I want you to be there for me, Tommy. If something bad happens I want you to be the one I come to. I want you to be by my side, not standing in front of me," she continued "But what I don't want is for you to think you can protect me from every bad thing that could happen to me. Not only is it unrealistic but it's unfair. To you and to me."

Why did she have to be so sensible and wise? Why couldn't she just let me wallow in my self-pity with promises even I knew I couldn't keep for certain? This is where Kim's self-sufficiency and independence drove me crazy and made me proud at the same time. I knew I didn't have to baby sit her but I think every guy has times in a relationship when they just want to be the protector or at least think they can be. The one who keeps their girlfriend safe from everything bad in the world.

Every other girl I ever dated besides Kim wanted me to be that guy and I couldn't. Now that I had Kim, I wanted to be that guy and she wouldn't let me. I wanted to sit there and try to make my case about it but as I looked around, I realized everyone but us was gone.

"Kim, did you see where Jason and the others went?" I asked hesitantly "I don't remember seeing them leave, do you?"

"I wasn't really paying attention to be honest," she answered "I'm sure they're around here somewhere though."

"Just sit here for a few minutes," I muttered in reply as I stood up quickly "I'm going to try and find the others, okay?"

Kim just nodded as I started jogging in the direction where I last saw Jason. I made a mental note to stay on the path so I didn't get lost but I still couldn't find them.

"Jason!? Zack!? Trini?" I yelled out but got no reply "Adam!? Billy!? Rocky!? 'Sha!? Anybody!?"

But it was no use. Kim and I had sat alone for almost a half-an-hour before I noticed they were gone, they were probably miles away by now. Defeated, I turned back around and began the trek back to Kim. When I finally made it back to her, she was sleeping quietly on the grass.

Silently, I prayed that nothing had happened to the others. There was no way Kim was going to be able to walk eight miles and I didn't think I could get her there without some help from the guys. My emotions were shifting back and forth between pissed because they left us and worried because I didn't know what had happened to them. Begrudgingly, I conceded defeat and took a seat on the grass next to Kim's sleeping body.

I sat there in absolute silence for damn near an hour, not wanting to wake Kim up from her clearly peaceful slumber. At the fifty-seven minute mark, and yes, I was counting, I heard the second greatest sound in the world, the rumbling motor of at least one ATV.

"Thank God," I muttered as two of the vehicles came into view and Kim rolled over and moaned in pain.

Jason hopped off one of the four-wheelers as Billy got off the other one and started walking towards us. I wanted to hug them and hit them at the same time.

"Where the fuck did you guys go? I…we were worried sick," I said sternly "We thought something had happened to you all."

"Calm down, bro. Everything's fine," Jason answered "We all agreed that Kim wasn't going to be able to make the walk and, honestly, none of us were too keen on the idea of carrying her. Trini suggested we go back and get the ATV's so that's what we did. Sorry for not telling you but you guys seemed to be having a serious discussion and we didn't want to interrupt."

"It's okay, Jason. You did the right thing," Kim said as she slowly raised herself into a sitting position "Thank you for bringing a ride for us. Now can we please go back to the camp site? It's starting to get cold out here and my clothes are still wet."

Her saying that was the first time I actually realized I was still sitting there in a sopped t-shirt and shorts. My shoes were still wet and I could hear them squeak with every step I took.

"Kim's right," Billy began "We need to get you guys back and in dry clothes or you risk getting sick. Tommy, help Jason and I get Kim on one of the quads, please."

Jason and I both nodded our heads as we all tried our best to lift Kim up and onto an ATV as gently as humanly possible. It took us a couple tries to all make the necessary movements in unison but eventually we got her into a sitting position. I felt her arms wrap around my waist as I climbed on the quad and looked over at Jason.

"Go slow," I requested as he nodded his head and we started up the vehicles "Hang tight, Beautiful. We'll be back before you know it."

"I love you, Tommy," she muttered, resting her head on my back.

"I love you too, Kim," I replied. _More than you'll ever know._

The trip from the camp site that took us over an hour on foot only took about twenty-five minutes on the ATV's. As soon as we pulled up, five bodies immediately took off in a dead sprint towards us. I held up my hand quickly, signaling them to stop before they even got started.

"Not right now guys. She needs to rest not be bombarded by a bunch of people," I said sternly. Kim was in pain and I just wasn't going to let them all pester and pepper her with questions, no matter how good of intentions backed them. "She's fine now and that's all that matters. I promise once she gets some rest you guys can talk to her."

They all nodded their heads in understanding as I climbed off the vehicle and lifted Kim into my arms. She gave them all a weak smile and squeaked out a "thank you" for their concerns before I carried her into the tent. Softly, I laid her on the air mattress and then laid down next to her, stroking her hair and rubbing her arm gently.

"That's where I want you to be my protector. What you just did was what I really need from you, Tommy," she whispered "I'm not up to dealing with all of them right now so thank you for that. And thank you for everything else you did today. I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

"You're welcome, but it wasn't just me, Beautiful. Jason was the one who gave you mouth-to-mouth, remember? He's as much responsible as I am," I answered "I was so scared, Kim. I couldn't even help you by myself. I had to use my Ninjetti powers just so I could reach you."

"It doesn't matter how you did it and I really don't care anyway. What matters is you did it and that we're both safe," she muttered "You did everything in your power to help me and that's all I could ever ask for from you."

"I love you, Kim," I replied as my eyes filled with tears "I'd do anything for you."

"I know, Tommy. I know," she answered reassuringly "Right now though all I want is for you to hold me and let me sleep in your arms. Can you do that for me, Handsome?"

I nodded my head and said yes, softly kissing her on the back of the neck as I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. A few minutes later she was asleep in my arms and a few minutes after that, I had dozed off as well.

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I woke up an hour later to the sound of Kim moaning loudly as she flailed around in different directions on the mattress. She hit me a few times before I managed to grab her wrists and hold her down.

"Beautiful, wake up. Come on, Kim," I said loudly, shaking her lightly as her eyes fluttered open and I pulled her close to me "It's okay, you're safe now. You were just having a nightmare, sweetheart, but I've got you now. Nothing's going to happen."

"Tommy, it was terrible. I dreamt about everything that happened but I died in your arms before you could save me," she muttered as I winced at her words "Hold me and don't let go, Tommy. Don't ever, ever let go."

"Don't worry, princess. I've got you," I said in a soothing voice as I hugged her tightly around the waist "I'm right here and you're safe. Nothing's going to happen to you, I promise."

"I love you, Tommy," she whimpered as she turned around and buried her head in my shoulders, crying against my shirt. She was letting me be the protector I wanted to be for her.

"Shh. Shh. I know, Kim. I love you too," I replied, gently stroking the back of her head "Just tell me what you want or need me to do and I'll do it, sweetie."

"You're all I need right now, Tommy. Nothing else in the world could help me right now except you," she whispered and sobbed "I want to marry you, Tommy. I want to be Mrs. Oliver and I want the whole world to know about it."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked with a puzzled look and she nodded her head "And that's really what you want?" she nodded again "Okay. If you're okay with telling them, so am I. When do you want to do it?"

"Now," she answered and then slowly pushed herself to her feet "I don't want to wait any longer to tell them. I want them all to know how much I love you."

"Okay," I nodded and stood up, following her out of the tent.

I waved my hand out towards the others, signaling we'd be back in a minute as Kim unlocked her truck. After opening the door for her, I reached up and I helped her up into her seat and then ran around to the passenger side and climbed in. Immediately, I opened the glove box and pulled the small black box from the plastic bag.

Slowly, and with great care, I took the ring from it's place in the box and held it up for Kim to see. I reached out and took a deep breath as I grabbed her hand.

"I know I've already asked you this but I want this to be done perfectly," I said softly "Kimberly Ann Hart, will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

"Yes, Tommy, I will," she answered with a grin which I reciprocated before taking the ring and slipping it onto her right ring finger. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and then leaned forward, kissing her gently and with passion.

"Let's see how long it takes them to figure out," she said as we broke the kiss and exited the vehicle. We met at the front of the truck and I dropped my arm, grabbing her hand as we walked back towards the others.

It didn't take long for Trini to notice anything, that's for sure. I noticed her eyeing Kim's hand the second we got close enough for her to see it. Almost as soon as we had taken our seats with the group, Trini stood up and pulled Kim with her away from us and into the woods.

"What's their deal?" Adam questioned as we heard Trini shriek and then they both started to giggle loudly.

"You'll have to ask Kim," I answered with a shoulder shrug and a sly grin "Don't you guys know how relationships work? She's the one that's got all the answers, not me."

It was close to seven and the sun was slowly starting to set behind us. Every year a group of locals went out on the lake on a barge and launched a huge display of fireworks. I had seen it once when I was younger and the show was part of the reason I had suggested Fourth of July weekend for the trip. I knew it didn't start until nine or nine-thirty but I didn't want to miss it and I didn't want any of them to miss it either.

"Guys, Tommy and I have something to tell you all," Kim called out as her and Trini approached the group. She moved over to where I was sitting in my chair and took a seat on my lap.

"Please tell me you're not pregnant," Rocky pleaded sarcastically as Kim and I shot him dirty looks "Jeez, I was just kidding. You know, there used to be a time where I'd make a joke and all of you would laugh hysterically until you got tears in your eyes and couldn't breathe."

"Yeah, I remember that time," Adam added with a grin "It was a long time ago. I think it was when you used to be funny. Crazy how things change, huh?"

"Guys, Kim and Tommy have something they want to tell us, remember," Trini interjected, silencing our laughter as she then motioned towards us "Go on, you two."

I looked up at Kim and smiled as she leaned forward and kissed me quickly. Slowly, she pulled her left hand away from where it was covering her right and held it up for the others to see.

"We're getting married," Kim told them "We're actually gonna do it, you guys. We're actually going to get married."

"Kim, Tommy, that's awesome," Jason spoke up as he walked over to us, hugging Kim and clasping my shoulder "Congratulations, you guys. You deserve each other. I couldn't be happier for you both."

"Yeah, Morphinomenal," Zack added "This is awesome."

"I agree," Billy continued "It's most definitely excellent news."

"Yeah, what he said," Rocky said, jerking his thumb towards Billy.

"Congrats, guys," Adam muttered "I'm happy for both of you."

"Me too," Aisha finished "I just can't believe it took this long."

Kim grinned and stuck her tongue out at Aisha as the former Yellow Ranger retuned the gesture. I didn't even realize my hand had creeped up the back of Kim's shirt and was rubbing her back until I felt her shiver and jerk.

"Sorry, Beautiful," I said quickly "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay. I'm just a little jumpy after what happened," she replied "Keep doing it though. It feels really nice."

I nodded my head and allowed my hand to resume it's position on Kim's back. Everyone went back to their seats and I looked around the group, trying to gauge everyone's reactions. I had expected some of them to be apprehensive but they all seemed genuinely happy for us.

"So none of you think this is a bad idea?" I asked them "I was expecting at least one or two of you to pipe up and say we were rushing things."

"If it was anyone but the two of you, I'm sure one of us would have," Adam answered seriously "You guys loved each other long before some of us even came around. What's it been, ten, twelve years? That's just an engagement that lasted just a little too long if you ask me."

We all laughed a little as the sound of an approaching vehicle reached us. I turned around and saw a little black sedan and when I looked at the top of the car, I couldn't help but laugh.

"You have got to be shitting me," I said as I looked at Jason "You got a pizza place to deliver to us in the middle of the woods? How'd you manage to do that?"

"I told the guy we'd tip him 40 bucks if he came out here," he answered rather nonchalantly.

"Are you going to?" I asked as he shook his head that he wasn't/

"Nope. But you are," I shot back as he turned towards the delivery guy "Hey boss, this is the man you want to see for your money."

I looked at Jason with a clearly pissed off glare as he grinned and pointed towards the pimply faced boy holding the pizza boxes. My pissed off look soon turned into a pleading one but Jason just maintained his smile and continued pointing.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked begrudgingly as I dug into my wallet.

"Eighty-one dollars and fifty-seven cents, sir," he answered as my eyes grew wide and my mouth fell open "Two extra-large pizzas at eighteen-fifty each plus tax and the forty dollar tip I was promised makes eighty-one fifty-seven."

"Fine," I muttered as I pulled out four twenties and two ones and handed them to the pizza-faced teenager "Keep the change."

I set the pizza boxes down on the table, making sure I got the best slices from both containers, made a plate for Kim and then took my seat next to her. Jason was standing at the table and I suddenly had the urge to pummel him. I set my plate down, got up and walked up behind him

"What was that for?" I hissed quietly as I stood directly behind him and he quickly spun around.

"That," he answered, poking me in the chest "Was for letting your fellow members take the fall without you two nights ago. Be glad that's all it was. If you hadn't partially redeemed yourself by sneaking out and untying us, it would have been a lot worse."

_FUCK!_ I screamed inside my head. I knew getting away without being caught had been too good to be true. Even if Kim had believed that I had nothing to do with it, Jason obviously knew better and this was how he paid me back for it. As much as I wanted to be furious with Jason, he had a valid point and, unfortunately, had me beat.

"Okay, you win," I replied, extending my hand "Truce?"

"Truce," he answered, shaking my hand tightly before we turned back around and took our seats next to our significant others.

"So why'd you get saddled with the bill?" Kim asked as I sat down next to her.

"I owed him one," I answered simply, taking a bite from my pizza before she could ask any more questions. In an effort to keep her silent long enough to forget what we were talking about, I resorted to underhanded tactics like feeding her from my slice of pizza and exchanging quick kisses in between bites. It was a low move, but it got the job done.

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Three hours later we pulled back up to the camp site in Jason's Suburban. Since all our stuff was unpacked there was enough room to carry us all, even if it was a little tight, but none of us really minded. We were family and this was a bonding experience.

The fireworks show had gone on for nearly twenty-five minutes and we all agreed it was one of the most amazing things any of us had ever seen. We found a nice spot on the lake shore, laid out blankets and drank. And when I say drank, I mean we _**drank**_,

Between the six guys we went through two thirty-packs of beer and another eighteen pack which, if you do the math, is thirteen beers each. Add that to the four or five Mike's Hard Lemonades each girl drank and we were collectively all feeling pretty good.

We had found our spot almost an hour before the show was set to start and Jason had been smart enough to bring along a football and a Frisbee. Let me just tell you, trying to run around, catch and throw a Frisbee while intoxicated, is not an easy task. Every single one of us ended up face first in the sand at least four or five times that night.

When the show started, we all took seats on separate blankets with Kim and I pulling ours just a little bit farther from the group. Just enough to where we could talk quietly and not be heard. The others understood us better than anyone else and knew it was just something that we did and that it wasn't intended to offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings.

I couldn't help but smile as the first two fireworks that went into the sky were a white one and a pink one that crossed paths before exploding in a bright display of light. Everyone else seemed to notice it too and they teased us a little bit when it happened.

"You're just jealous," I called out and then turned my attention to Kim "They're just jealous."

"They should be. They don't get to experience what a wonderful man you are like I do," she answered, resting her head on my shoulder.

This was exactly the reason why we had separated ourselves from the group. It seemed like no matter what we did or where we went we always ended up having a conversation like this one. It was probably the beer again but I suddenly had a newfound courage. I took a quick deep breath and grabbed Kim's hands as she looked up at me.

"I want to adopt Nathan," I said confidently as her mouth dropped open "I already love him like my son and if you're going to be my wife I want him to be my son."

"Tommy, I…I wasn't expecting this from you," she muttered "I really don't know what to say to that."

"Say that you'll let me adopt Nathan. He deserves a father and I want to be that man," I continued "So what do you say, Kim? Will you let me adopt Nathan? Will you let me be his dad?"

"Tommy, I think you became his dad the first time you saw him," she answered "He asks me all the time if he can call you dad or if you want to be his dad or if you and I are going to be Mommy and Daddy soon. Now I can finally tell him yes to all his questions."

"You mean it? You'll let me do it?" I asked excitedly.

"Yes, of course I will. I mean, we'll have to talk to Nathan about it but he loves you just as much as I do," she replied, throwing her arms around my neck "I love you, Tommy. You make me so happy I can hardly stand it. I don't deserve all of this from you."

"Yes, you do Kim because I love you just as much as you love me. I always have," I added "The fact that you're going to let me do this means so much to me. You have no idea how happy I am."

"Not as happy as me," she answered and then kissed me before I could answer.

_Dammit!__She's playing my game now_ I thought but continued to return her kisses anyway. With that conversation out of the way, we were now free to sit back, relax and continue to get drunk which was exactly what we did.

I'd say "incredible" could describe the finale of the fireworks display but that word just doesn't do it much justice. If "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" was a real word I'd use it but since it was created by a crazy lady with medicine, sugar and a flying umbrella, I choose to disregard it. Now, after that little lesson, back to the show.

One by one, a firework was shot into the sky. The first one was blue, followed by yellow, then purple, pink, red, green and white. If any of us had shared a color, we turned to one another and gave smiles and nods. I think I gave the most nods and smiles since purple, our substitute for black, meant I had to smile and nod at Zack and Adam, green meant I had to smile and nod at Adam and red meant I had to smile and nod at Jason and Rocky. Thank God I had never worn pink, yellow or blue and no one else but me had worn white or I would have had a sore neck for days.

After each firework went up individually, they started going up in pairs. Blue with pink, then purple with yellow, green with pink followed by red with yellow and then white with pink. Even if none of us were willing to admit it, the display had to be more than just a coincidence. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I subconsciously knew that a certain old friend had played some kind of role in all of this.

My theory only seemed more correct and plausible as every single color of firework shot up in unison. They let out a loud bang as they exploded and flashed brightly. As soon as one round fizzled out, another one went up in it's place. It was like a 21 Gun Salute for us and it made us all proud even if we didn't understand how or why.

Somehow, Billy, the man who spent the first seven years of his adult life on Aquitar and didn't even touch alcohol until he was 26, managed to be the most sober out of all of us and thus was nominated by the group to drive back. I silently prayed the whole ride back that nothing would happen and that we'd make it back safe.

Normally, none of us were this irresponsible but we had all had an extremely stressful day and no one had been thinking about who would drive while we were busy getting drunk. Luckily, the camp site was only a ten minute drive and we managed to get back relatively safe. There had been the squirrel that Billy's extremely slow and impaired reflexes didn't even allow him to try to avoid and he even let ou a sadistic chuckle as the tire hit the small creature but aside from that there was no damage done to us or the car.

After everything that had happened that day, all I wanted to do was devote all my attention to Kim and whatever her needs were. We said goodnight and stumbled into the tent clumsily as I turned around, yelled "goodnight" as loudly as I possibly could and then zipped the tent closed.

Kim immediately pulled off her top and fell back on the mattress but I had other things in mind. I shook my head no and told her to roll over as I got on my knees behind her.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked seductively as I unclasped her bra and let it fall to the side.

"Everything," I answered as I started to massage her back and she let out a muffled whimper "Just relax and let me take care of you, Beautiful. I'm here for you tonight."

She nodded her head and turned around with a smile on her face. She gave me a couple quick kisses and then went back down to her stomach.

"I love you so much, Tommy," she said softly, moaning at even the slightest touch.

"I love you too, Kim," I replied, kissing her on the back of the neck before going back to work on the massage.

If I got to do everything I wanted for, and to, her it was going to be a long night. As my hands brushed over her butt cheeks and started working on her thighs, she let out another muffled moan and I hoped and prayed that I didn't sleep a wink.

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_Here you go! Hope you liked it. Don't forget to review guys. Let me know what you're thinking._

_Cheers,_

_WK_


	13. Going Home

The morning came quicker than any of us had wanted it too. It was Monday now, and that meant it was time to pack up and head home. Everyone but Jason and I had to work on Tuesday, even Kim who needed to get back to her school, so we were making one long trip back instead of dividing it into two days like we had done before. Luckily, Billy was around to help and, even though Jason and Adam didn't like it, he volunteered to drop the girls off on his way to Blue Bay Harbor, saving us from having to make two extra stops.

We all sat around the campfire together in silence one last time, munching on cereal and toast, not really wanting to admit that the trip was over already. It had been fun, crazy, strange, awkward, depressing, scary and amazing all at once. There were probably a lot more adjectives that could have been used to describe the trip but those were just the first ones that popped in my head as I sat back and reflected.

So much had happened in the last four days, it was hard to believe. Kim and I had gotten engaged, I was planning on adopting Nathan, Jason and Trini had been reunited, Aisha and Adam were together, we fought, we laughed, we yelled, we cried and then we laughed some more.

"I've got something I want to do for all of you," Kim muttered as she picked up her guitar "Some of you have heard it, some of you haven't but it just fits right now."

She slowly strapped the guitar around her shoulder and took the pick in between her thumb and pointer finger. Tears filled her eyes and mine as well as she started strumming the familiar tune.

"Down the road, we never know. What life may have in store. Winds of change, you rearrange, our lives more than before," she began "But you'll never be alone my friends. Memories never die. For in our hearts, they'll always live. And never say goodbye. Yes, in our hearts they'll always live. And never say, goodbye."

"That was great, Kim," Adam said with a smile as I wrapped my arm around Kim and she laid her head on my shoulder "When did you write that?"

"Oh gosh, we must have been fifteen or sixteen I think. It was just a couple months before you, Rocky and Aisha came," Kim answered as she dabbed at her eyes "I had been trying to write a song for Tommy but I was struggling with it. Zack helped me with it and that was what we got. It's short but very too the point, I think."

"It was beautiful, Kim," I said reassuringly, kissing her on the forehead "Guys, I think it's that time. Everyone pack your belongings and get them in a vehicle. Rocky, Billy, Zack, you guys get the ATV's back in the trailer and the boat hooked back up to Kim's truck. Girls, would you mind packing up the extra food and getting the cooking stuff put away? Jason, you, me and Adam will get the tents. After what happened on Friday, I'm not letting Rocky or Zack near one of those things."

After finishing breakfast and throwing away our disposable plates and utensils, we all made our away into our separate tents. It was with great sadness that I started throwing clothes in my duffel bag while Kim did the same thing.

Something about being back together with the old team, all nine of us at one time, had had a profound effect on me. So much had changed in the last four days and I didn't want to say goodbye. Sure, Rocky and Adam lived close as did Kim and Jason but Zack lived in Los Angeles, Billy in Blue Bay Harbor, Trini in Sacramento and Aisha in the Bay Area. We were all going our separate ways again and saying goodbye never got any easier.

When we had finally gotten all our clothes, toiletries and accessories packed and in the car, we paired off and started on the tasks I had assigned. Jason and Adam helped me with the tents as I looked around at what we were leaving behind.

"So what's your plan with Aisha?" I asked Adam as we folded one of the tents up.

"I don't know. I'm still not sure where we stand," he answered, Jason and I both giving him confused looks "We've been friends since we were five years old. I remember meeting her on our first day in kindergarten. Some bully pushed me in the sandbox because I was shy and she stepped in and stopped him. We've been best friends ever since and I don't want to lose that friendship with her if a relationship doesn't work out."

"That's exactly how I felt about Trini but you have to follow your heart, bro," Jason interjected "If I hadn't followed mine I never would have ended up with Trini. The same goes for Tommy and Kim. You and Aisha go good together though and I think you'd be making a mistake to not pursue her."

Adam just nodded his head in agreement and went back to working on getting the tents taken down. By the time they had been taken apart and put back in their carrying bags, the girls were done with their stuff and Billy, Rocky and Zack were just finishing up with getting the ATV's loaded and the boat hooked back up. Looking at the trailer, I was kind of pissed that we hadn't gotten to use the jet skis. So many things had happened and there just wasn't enough time to do everything unfortunately.

I watched intently as the last of our things were loaded into the three separate vehicles, most of it going in Jason's since the majority of it was his anyway. Billy, Aisha and Trini were leaving first and most of us said our goodbyes and then stepped back so Jason could be with Trini and Adam could be alone with Aisha before they left.

Kim squeezed my hand tightly as Adam leaned in and kissed Aisha softly. Both of their eyes filled with tears at the realization that they were being separated again. Jason and Trini shared the same reaction before they said their goodbyes. Together, the six of us that remained waved one last time and watched as Billy's blue Navigator took off and disappeared out of sight a few seconds later.

"I guess that just leaves us," I said to Jason, turning towards him "I'm going to stay at Kim's tonight. We have some things to figure out on the way back. I'll see you tomorrow when we bring the boat back, okay bro?"

"Alright, man," Jason answered, sticking out his hand as I took it "Have a safe drive back man. I'm glad we all got to do this."

"Me too," I replied, moving to Rocky, Adam and Zack to shake hands "Thanks for coming guys. This was an awesome weekend."

"Yeah, it sure was," Adam muttered in reply "Kinda sad that it's over though, huh?"

We all nodded our heads in agreement and then erased our handshakes with brotherly hugs. Kim came up beside me a few seconds later and hugged the others as well.

"Bye guys. Be safe," she whispered and sniffled "Call me when you get back home, okay? Yes, Zack that means you too. I don't care what time it is when you get home."

"You got it dude!" Zack exclaimed, giving her a thumbs up and another hug "Don't cry, Kim. We'll all see each other again soon. I mean, there _is_ a Ranger wedding in the works and it wouldn't surprise me if bells came from another direction either."

Zack jerked his thumb towards Jason who had a broad grin on his face. We were so much alike in every way and I knew it wouldn't be too long before he asked Trini, if not for marriage, than at least a more serious commitment. I could see it in his eyes when he was with her that they were going to be together because it was the same look I got when I was around Kim.

One last time, we exchanged hugs and said goodbye before getting into our separate vehicles. I was driving for the first couple of hours and I smiled a little bit as we got on the freeway and Kim laid her head in my lap, falling asleep right there. Every few minutes I'd reach out and stroke her hair, smiling at how peaceful she looked.

Only a few minutes into our drive back, "We Are The Champions" came on the radio. I smiled as I blocked out the singer's voice and replaced it with all of us singing together around the campfire. Kim's song was right; memories never die.

A couple hours later we stopped for a cup of coffee and a snack and it was now Kim's turn to drive. I held her hand the whole way, occasionally leaning in and kissing her, rubbing the ring on her finger.

"What time does the Youth Center close?" I asked Kim as the sign signifying Angel Grove was ten miles away came into view.

"Ten, I think," she answered and looked at me "Why?"

"Let's make a pit stop before we go home," I replied "Maybe get some ice cream for Nathan. You think he'd like that?"

She just smiled and nodded her head as we rode in silence until we reached Ernie's. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her in close as we walked into the Youth Center together.

"Hey, look who it is!" Ernie called out as we walked in "Where have you guys been!?"

"We went camping with the Ra…" I began and then noticed he still had customers "With the others. We went to Lake Tahoe for the weekend."

"Really? That's great. How was it?" he asked.

"Amazing," I answered simply "I hate to be rude, Ernie but we want to get back to Nathan. He hasn't seen his mom in almost five days so can we just get a strawberry with M & M's and a double scoop of chocolate in a cup to go please?"

"What? You mean you're not going to make me get my own this time?" Kim asked in surprise.

"Nah, I don't have a problem sharing with my future wife," I answered with a grin and then kissed her as Ernie's eyes grew wide.

"You mean…are you…you guys are engaged?" he sputtered as we nodded our heads "Since when?"

"Tommy asked me on Friday morning," Kim replied, holding up the ring for Ernie to see "I just couldn't say no to a rock like this. Plus, Tommy's pretty cute too."

Kim looked up and grinned, playfully slapping me on the cheek as Ernie handed us the bag of treats in exchange for a couple bills. He came around the counter and gave us both hugs, offering his congratulations to us a couple times.

"So, should we send the invitation here?" I asked Ernie as a shocked look appeared on his face.

"Are you serious?" he asked in reply "You want me at the wedding?"

"Of course we do, Ernie," Kim interjected with a smile "After everything you've done for us I'd feel terrible if you didn't come."

"Well then I guess you can send it here," he grinned "Thanks guys. Have a good night and be sure to say hi to Nathan for me, okay?"

"Sure thing, man," I replied, shaking his hand "We'll be in touch once we get everything sorted out. There's still a lot to discuss and we haven't even set a date or anything but you'll be one of the first to know when we do."

Ernie thanked us again and waved goodbye as we left the Youth Center hand-in-hand. I offered to drive the rest of the way and Kim handed me the keys as I opened her door for her.

"Such a gentleman," she muttered as I smacked her on the butt "Hey! You'll save that for later if you know what's good for you."

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked with a sly grin and then shut her door before she could answer. I jumped up into the truck and took her hand again as she set the bag of ice cream on the floor. "I love you, Kim."

"I love you too, Tommy," she answered, kissing me as I started the car and we drove off.

It was a quick drive back to Kim's house and as soon as we stepped out of the truck I heard the front door fling open, accompanied by approaching footsteps. Nathan was heading towards us in a full on sprint so Kim set the bag down and got on her knees, reaching out as her son flung himself into her arms.

"Oh, there's my little munchkin," Kim said teasingly, kissing him on the forehead and then on both cheeks "Did you miss me, Nathan?"

"Yep. What'd you bring me?" he asked innocently as I let out a chuckle and he turned towards me and waved "Hey, Tommy! What'd you bring me?"

"Hey there, big guy," I answered, picking him up and hugging him "We were going to bring you the squirrel our friend Billy ran over but we just brought you some ice cream from Ernie's instead."

Nathan made a face at the squirrel comment but quickly forgot it when I mentioned the ice cream. He instantly got excited and a big smile crept across his face.

"Did you bring strawberry with em-em-em's?" he asked eagerly and I nodded "Thanks, Tommy. You're the best."

I looked over at Kim who was looking back at us and smiling. Quickly, I shifted Nathan into one arm and then wrapped my free arm around Kim's waist as we walked up towards the house. Setting Nathan down, I gave Jessica a quick wave and smile as I followed the young boy into the kitchen, laughing as he dug through the drawers trying to find a spoon. Eventually, he found one and he held it up proudly as if he had just won a trophy.

"Atta kid," I said encouragingly as he handed me a spoon "Let's get at that ice cream, huh? What do you say?"

He nodded his head eagerly as I set the white paper bag down on the kitchen table and pulled out two Styrofoam cups. He yanked the lid off it almost immediately after I handed it to him and dug his spoon into the container. I heard the front door close and as Kim came into the kitchen a few seconds later I slapped my knee, gesturing for her to come sit with us.

She smiled and walked over to us, taking a seat on my knee and the spoon out of my hand. I looked up at her in partial shock as she got a spoonful of ice cream, acted like she was going to feed it to me and then put it in her own mouth.

"Haha, mommy got you good!" Nathan teased, pointing at me and giggling.

"Yes, she did," I answered as I pulled Nathan's spoon from his hand and took the ice cream right off it "And I got you."

Kim and I both laughed as I handed the spoon back to him and then rubbed my hand on Kim's back. Letting out a sigh, she relaxed and rested her head against mine.

"Do you wanna do it now or wait until morning?" Kim asked in a whisper.

"It's up to you, sweetheart," I answered "It's really not my decision to make. Honestly, it's between you and him not me."

She nodded her head and sat up straight, clearing her throat and getting Nathan's attention. He set his spoon down and looked up at Kim, swallowing his ice cream as we both smiled.

"Nathan, remember how you were saying you wanted Tommy to be your dad?" she asked as he blushed and nodded his head "What if I told you that Tommy wants to actually be your dad? He asked me to marry him and I said yes. Do you want us all to be a family?"

"Tommy's going to be my dad? He really wants to be my dad?" he asked in shock and then looked at me "You really want to be my dad?"

"Only if you want me to, Nathan. If you don't, I understand but I love your mom and I love you," I answered "And I really want us all to be a family but only if it's okay with you. Is it okay with you, buddy?"

He nodded his head and grinned as he hopped off his chair and ran over to me, hugging me around the waist. Kim looked down and smiled, kissing me on the cheek as I put an arm around each of them and pulled them in for a tight hug.

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"That went better than I expected," I muttered as I pulled my shirt off and joined Kim in the bathroom. The counter had double sinks and double medicine chests and she had designated one side for my stuff when I stayed the night.

As I squirted some toothpaste onto the brush, it really set in for the first time that Kim and I were engaged. Everyone had been so happy, even Jason who I was supposed to be spending the summer with. We had been together for three weeks and, as everything slowly set in, I started to feel like I was breaking the promise I had made with Jason. Kim had apparently seen the distress in my face because I felt her arms wrap around my waist as she laid her head on my shoulder.

"What's bothering you, Tommy?" she asked softly.

"Do you think I'm betraying Jason by spending so much time with you? We were supposed to spend the whole summer together," I began "When I agreed to come down here for the summer, you honestly weren't even a thought in my mind. Is it wrong that I'm not spending more time with him? That I'm not over there every night?"

"I don't know, Tommy. I can't answer that. That's a conversation you and Jason have to have," she answered "But I think you know in you're heart how you really feel. We don't have to move in with each other just because we're engaged, either. I have to go back to work tomorrow anyway which is just more time that you'll have to spend together. I want you to do what's right for you. If you think that means splitting your time between us and Jason for the summer then I'm okay with that."

"Thanks, Kim. That means a lot to me," I replied with a smile "I think I'll talk to Jason about everything when we drop off the boat before you go to work tomorrow. Thank you for being so understanding, Beautiful. I love you."

"And I love you, Thomas James Oliver. Remember when I said save the spanking for later?" she asked with a grin as I nodded my head and smiled "Now's the time."

She took off in a sprint from the bathroom and I smiled as I slowly followed her into the bedroom. She was laying on the bed seductively, using a curled finger to instruct me to come closer. As soon as I got within arms reach she grabbed me around the wrists and pulled me into her for a kiss.

In between kisses we undressed each other and then Kim pulled back the comforter on the bed. I took the hint and dove on to the bed as Kim climbed on top of me and pinned me down with her forearm.

"It's my turn to repay you for last night," she said in a whisper, kissing her way down my body.

"Time for the real Dragonzord power," I muttered with a grin as she looked up at me, smiled and took me in her mouth as my eyes rolled back in my head and I put a pillow over my face to muffel any sounds.

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The loud buzzing of the alarm clock echoed throughout the room, bright and early at seven in the morning. I groaned loudly as I rolled over and realized Kim wasn't in bed. Groggily, I reached over and slapped the alarm clock as Kim emerged from the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel and her body covered by a robe. Even with wet hair, no makeup and a bathrobe on she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life.

I smiled brightly as she came over and sat next to me on the bed, gently running her hand through my hair. I reached up and pulled her into a tight hug as her bedroom door flew upon. Nathan was standing there in his Spider-Man pajamas and when he saw us hugging, he took it upon himself to join us by jumping on top of Kim.

"Ugh, come on kiddo," Kim groaned as she picked Nathan up and set him on the floor "Jessica's coming over to take you to breakfast and the movies, remember? You better go get ready or she might leave without you."

Nathan shook his head and got a horrified expression on his face as he turned around and ran out of the bedroom. I laughed a little as I reached up for Kim and kissed her on the cheek.

"I'm gonna go hop in the shower, Beautiful," I began "What time do you have to be at your school this morning?"

"Nine," she answered "So hurry up because I still have to drop you and the boat of at Jason's house before I go to work."

I nodded my head and headed towards the bathroom as Kim shut and locked the bedroom door and dropped her robe. It took every ounce of control I had to not look because, if I had, Kim definitely would have been late.

By the time I had showered, shaved, brushed my teeth and gotten dressed, it was already 7:45. It was a fifteen minute drive to Jason's and at least ten minutes to get the boat all taken care of. Add that to the twenty-five minute drive to Kim's school and we were cutting it kind of short.

As soon as Jessica showed up at eight, Kim and I hugged and said goodbye to Nathan and headed for the truck. Luckily, traffic hadn't been bad and we made it a couple minutes earlier than we had expected. Jason was outside waiting when we pulled up and he immediately started walking over w hen he saw us.

"Morning, guys," Jason said with a yawn as he approached us "Did everyone call you last night?"

"Yes," I answered begrudgingly, recalling at least two or three interruptions the night before "How was your night?"

"Boring. We got back around eight, ordered a pizza and played some video games. Adam and Rocky went home last night at midnight and Zack left at around seven this morning, I think."

"Jason, do you mind if I use your bathroom while you guys take care of the boat?" Kim asked as Jason shook his head and told her to go for it. Kim nodded and thanked him as she turned around and jogged towards the house.

"Let me ask you a question, Jase," I muttered as we started on the boat "Are you mad that I'm spending so much time with Kim? I know this summer was supposed to be us just hanging out and I kind of feel like I broke that agreement between us."

Jason slowly looked up at me as he cranked the lever up to raise the boat from the hitch.

"Let me tell you something, bro. You coming down here was not just about us spending time together. It never was," Jason answered as I looked at him in surprise "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're hanging out and spending time together but if this whole summer was about that, I would have waited longer before inviting Kim over. If I wanted to spend every day with you, I would have waited a couple months."

"Wait, so you mean this was all just a ploy on your part to get Kim and I back together?" I asked as he nodded his head "Why? Why is Kim and I being together that important to you."

Jason stood up, wiping his hands on a rag as he looked at me seriously. He took a deep breath, turned around to make sure Kim was still in the house and then looked at me again.

"Because you guys are the two of the most important people I have in my life. Every time I saw you or Kim, the other would get brought up and you both always looked so hurt that you didn't have each other anymore," Jason answered "Kim and I took Nathan out for dinner on his birthday a few weeks before I called you to come down. Kim loves him more than anything on the planet, except you. I could see it in her eyes when I'd mention something like the Dino Thunder Rangers or anything to do with Reefside. I got sick of the fact that you two stayed apart because neither of you were willing to make the move so I did it for you."

My mouth fell open as I stared at Jason in shock. His reply definitely wasn't what I had been expecting and I didn't know whether to be happy or furious with him. But then I realized if Jason hadn't done anything Kim and I still would still be apart and miserable. He got back down and buried his head, still trying to get the boat off the hitch.

"Hey, Jase," I said as he looked up slowly "Thanks. For everything."

He just nodded his head and went back to work. It was all that needed to be said between us and there was no reason to carry the conversation any further. A few minutes later, Kim came out of the house just as we had completely detached the boat from her truck. I had pulled her truck forward so Jason could back his Suburban up and undo everything he had just done. We were going to take the boat back to storage later on which meant we would have to re-attach it and then detach it again before we were finally done with it.

"Here you go, Beautiful," I said as I handed her the keys to her truck and kissed her "Have a good day at work. I'll call you later tonight. Maybe you, me, Nathan and Jason can go get a bite to eat together or something."

"Yeah, I think we can do that," Kim answered, kissing me again and then waved goodbye to Jason "Spend some time with your best friend, okay? We're getting married Tommy, we'll have the rest of our lives to spend together."

I nodded my head and kissed her one last time before she turned around, climbed into her truck and drove off down the street. Turning back around, I gave Jason a quick head nod as we went back to work on getting the boat reattached to the Suburban in silence.

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When we pulled back up at his house almost two hours later, we were all laughs and smiles. The conversation earlier had been put to rest and we were back to our normal joking ways.

"So what do you want to do today, bro?" I asked him as we walked up the driveway "It's only eleven and the day is still young my friend."

"Let's go see that new flick with the hot chick from TV," Jason answered. I nodded my head even though, thanks to his vague request, I had no idea what he was talking about.

I should have known it was going to be a long day when, as soon as we took seats at the top of the dark theater, Jason started throwing Mike & Ike's at the people sitting below us. It was ten-thirty on a Tuesday so there weren't that many targets but Jason had a keen eye.

"Watch this bro," Jason whispered as he took one of the candies and hit a younger girl in the back of the head. Jason burst out laughing as she spun around and the guy she was with stood up and took off up the stairs towards us.

"Conner?" I asked in between laughs as he got closer "What the hell are you doing in Angel Grove?"

"What the hell are you doing throwing candy at people?" he hissed "My grandparents live here if you must know. My grandma's birthday was yesterday and Kira came up with me to visit. That's who you hit, Dr. O. We're seeing each other now. Hey, who's the new guy?"

"I'm Jason," he answered, extending his hand as Conner took it and he made sure to add "First red."

"No shit?" Conner asked in surprise as his eyes widened "Holy crap. I can't believe how cool this is. You're actually the original Red Ranger. Unbelievable."

"Calm down, Conner," I said sternly "There are still people in here. Go back down with Kira and we'll talk to you after the movie."

"Sure thing Dr. O. It was nice meeting you Jason," he muttered as he turned around and walked down the stairs but when he reached the bottom he turned back towards us "Attention ladies and gentlemen! If any of you feel like you're being pelted with something, it's the two almost thirty-year old guys at the top of the theatre."

I shot Connor an evil look but it was too dark for him to see it anyway. Sighing, I looked at Jason as the previews started and made a mental note to pulverize Conner when the movie was over.

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	14. Really Going Home

_For the sake of where I want this story to go, I'm embellishing the whole Ranger timeline. Instead of two or three years after Dino Thunder, Operation Overdrive takes place closer to DT but with enough time in between for SPD and MF to happen too._

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When I said that this story was just going to be what happened with all of us after Mesogog was defeated, I didn't lie. But I wasn't one-hundred percent truthful either. So much more happened than what I let on to when I set out to tell you all this story.

I thought I could just tell you all about the fun times we had together; the pranks we pulled, the jokes we told, the trouble we got into and the people we fell in love with. Unfortunately, I now realize that I'm going to have to dive further into what really happened for all of you to really understand the way things went down.

You all that are still reading my story are in for a little treat, I think. Like I said, there's a lot more that happened then what I've told you so far. All you've seen so far is the groundwork for what would become the biggest fight any of us had ever experienced.

What I am going to describe next is how I best recall the next couple months in my life. I apologize for jumping so fast into the future but there wasn't a whole lot that happened in that little period of time. For those of you who care about those couple of months, here is a brief glance at what happened to me and the rest of my former teammates.

NOTHING!!!

Absolutely nothing. It's sad to say but all our lives became rather mundane and boring to be quite honest. Kim would go to her school in the mornings and either I stayed with Nathan or Jessica came over to watch him if I had plans. Most of the time, I spent the last month and a half of Nathan's summer break before he started First Grade with him, either taking him to the baseball field or the movies or the water park or whatever else we could come up with.

Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with Nathan. Helping us to become more like a family had become something that was extremely important to me but there was also something missing in my life. I had seriously thought my life would be complete with Kim back in it but there was always that constant nagging in my side when I turned on the news and heard about the newest group of Rangers or realized I had put on a white shirt and Kim had on pink.

Unlike the teams that I served and led, the Overdrive Rangers had to deal with a whole army of bad guys instead of just a leader and their warriors but they seemed to be doing a decent enough job. That didn't make it any easier to have to sit back and watch, though. When I left the Turbo Rangers, it was with a heavy heart but I moved on and eventually became content with my life as a civilian and former Ranger.

As you all know, that all changed when I was pulled away from my life and had to assemble the Red Rangers for the moon mission to stop General Venjix. Add that to becoming a mentor to the Dino Thunder Rangers and then taking the Black Dino Gem, and I was sucked back into a world I had very much grown accustomed to being away from.

Losing the Dino Thunder powers was more difficult on me than any other power loss I had experienced in the past because I knew it meant the end for sure. There was no mystical quests or crystals that could help me and, at the time, there was definitely no Zordon to give me new powers. I was done and that was that.

I remember sitting around on the couch one day, playing video games with Nathan when I got a call from Adam. Some guy called the Sentinel Knight had approached him about returning with other former Rangers to help the Overdrive Rangers. Adam was genuinely excited and, as much as I tried to be happy for him, I was more than a little pissed that no one had come to me. At that point, I was craving Ranger duty again and the call from Kira that followed Adam's only made me want it that much more.

Living as a civilian and knowing there was power out there was like an addiction and when Kira called to tell me the same guy that asked Adam for help had asked her too, I felt that addiction reappear. I wanted back in the game but there was no way for me to make that happen. Sure, I could have found another power source like the Dino Gems but what good is a power source if you have no bad guys to use it against and no one else to share it with?

Adam returned from stopping some guy named Thrax with nothing but stories of how cool it was to be back and praise for how good a job I had done with Kira. I was glad that Kira had done a good job and that my tutelage had paid off but Adam's stories only made that itch stronger. Plus, I would have loved to kick the crap out of Lord Zedd and Rita's offspring.

I always carried just a little bit of jealousy towards Jason for getting to control his original Power for the moon mission and now I had Adam to be jealous of too. I had been stuck with the Zeo Powers for the moon mission which never felt as comfortable to me as my Morphin' and Ninja Powers and I would have done anything to be able to go to the moon as the White Ranger or even the Green Ranger.

Unfortunately, I had been saddled with Zeo V, Red for obvious reasons but, damn, the things I would have done just for a taste of my White or Green Ranger Powers; Saba right by my side again, spouting out sarcastic remarks or the Dragon Dagger in its' sheath, ready to call on my second favorite Zord. The Dragonzord was a close second to the Falconzord but only because of the memories Kim and I shared, piloting our aerial Zords through the sky together.

God, I would have killed to have been able to go with Adam and Kira to help out with the Overdrive Rangers, not only to be back in the game but to see what the new teams were like. I had met all the Reds up until the Wild Force team and I had also met most of SPD and the Ninja Storm Rangers but there were still a lot of others out there that I didn't know.

Sometimes, I think I'm not the only one who wanted it either. Adam had accepted the Sentinel Kinight's offer eagerly as did Jason for the moon mission and there were times where I'd look at one of them or any of the other former Rangers and they'd have that look in their eye. That look that said they were wondering if Earth was safe or if there was going to be a monster attack soon. That look that said they wanted one last chance to put their hand behind their back, say "It's Morphin' Time!" and save the world.

I knew the look because I got it more than all of them combined. Kim even caught it a few times and called me out on it. I couldn't lie to her so I'd just sigh and tell her how much I wanted to morph again and to be able to fly the Falconzord or pilot a Megazord. She'd try to act like she understood but no one had as much experience as a Ranger as I did and that bond, that connection, to the power ran deeper in my veins then the rest of them.

Anyway, back to what I was telling you before. The rest of our summer was pretty boring and rather uneventful. Every couple weekends or so, Trini would pop in and her, Jason, Kim and I would all go out to dinner or Adam and Rocky would come by and we'd stay up late, drinking and doing stupid stuff but there were no more camping trips, no more bar fights and no more strip clubs.

Had my life become…routine? Was I living the life my parents lived, the one I told myself I could never deal with? I was and, as comfortable and easy as it was, I didn't like it. When you get a scab, there are two things you can do; scratch it for temporary relief or put something on it and wait for it to go away.

Being with my teammates as civilians was like scratching the itch and I needed the Neosporin. Little did I know that in just a short period of time, I'd have the biggest scab in the world and all the antibiotic cream I needed. Okay, bad analogy but still, you get the point.

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_September 20th_

A little over two months had passed since I had returned to Angel Grove. Kim and I moved in with each other shortly after the camping trip and Nathan had gone back to school the last week of August.

Two month earlier, in the middle of July, I got a call from Principal Randall about my plans for the upcoming school year. Apparently, Anton had told her about my trip to Angel Grove and she wanted to make sure I was going to be back for the coming school year.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a firm answer for her. Kim and I had become so focused on raising Nathan and being a couple again that we hadn't had time to talk about it. I asked Principal Randall for a week to figure out what I wanted to do. Three days later, I had my decision but I wasn't the one to make it. Fate, had made it for me.

Remember when I said I was going to take a year off and that you would hear more about Anton Mercer later in the story? Now is later in the story.

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_Flashback_

The choice to take a year off from teaching was made for one reason although another one would present itself later. The main reason I took a break was because Kim rarely worked more than a few hours a day at the gym during the school year. She taught the highest level classes at six in the morning because she thought it was a good way to test the girl's devotion to the sport. After a two-hour long session with that class she had a short break and then overlooked the toddlers class at nine to make sure the instructors weren't pushing them too hard.

Kim always told me she never would have fallen in love with gymnastics if, when she was a toddler, she hadn't had a teacher who was just willing to let them tumble around on the floor for forty-minutes and not worry about stances and formations and real practicing. It had convinced her that gymnastics was fun, not work, which made practicing and performing easier at an earlier age. Her way of teaching the younger kids was a direct influence from her childhood coach and it Kim's main priority with the group was to make sure they had fun above everything else.

Once that class was over around ten, she was free for the rest of the day which meant the two of us could spend as much time together as we wanted to. When I found that piece of information out, it was a simple decision to walk away from Reefside, at least on a temporary basis if nothing else.

But, like I said, as much as I loved spending time with Kim I had an itch that no paying job or person in the world could make go away. That's why, on that fateful September day, a couple months later, my life became complete again. I got my wings back.

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_September 20th, present time again_

Kim and I had just gotten back from dropping Nathan off at his very first sleepover birthday party that a friend from his class was having. Kim had been apprehensive about leaving Nathan alone with someone she didn't really know and, even though the parents of his friend seemed nice enough and they lived in a good neighborhood, it still took a little coaxing on my part to get her to leave Nathan with anyone other than Jessica or another Ranger.

So, like I was saying, we had just settled back in when the doorbell rang. I got up and answered it, pretty sure it was Jason and Trini since we had invited them over, and it was. We all exchanged hugs and hellos as they joined us on in the living room.

Jason had set a huge pizza box on the kitchen table, right next to the bottle of red wine Kim and I had just opened so getting food became priority number one. After we had gotten our dinner and filled our glasses, we returned to the living room, Kim and I taking the couch with Jason and Trini on the loveseat.

"Waa aww we wawchen?" Jason asked with a mouth full of pizza.

"_WE…ARE…WACTHING,_" I answered slowly, rolling my eyes at Jason's conversation tactics and annunciating each word carefully "_THE…TALENTED…MR…RIPLEY."_

"Goo," he replied, oblivious to what I had just done "I ruv dat moobie."

Kim and Trini tried not to laugh as I snatched the remote off the coffee table in disgust and turned on the DVD player. We made it through the previews with nothing out of the ordinary but just as the opening credits started, the lights began to flicker and then the power went out completely.

"What the hell just happened?" Kim asked nervously as she latched onto my arm.

"It's just a power outage, sweetheart. Nothing's wrong," I said reassuringly, stroking her arm "I'm gonna go get the flashlight from the kitchen, okay?"

But as soon as the words had come from my mouth and I had gotten to my feet, the television clicked back on. Not the clock on the oven or the lights or the DVD player, just the television. The picture was grainy but it slowly started to come into focus, revealing something none of us were prepared for.

"Guess who's baaaaaaaack," a voice said tauntingly as a figure came into the picture "Hey there, kiddies, listen up and listen well. It's time for a little payback. Welcome to my nightmare…"

And then he was gone. The television went black and the room remained dark. Kim was whimpering, squeezing my hand tightly as the television clicked back on and he was still staring at us.

"Again!" he snarled, causing Kim to jump before he disappeared for good.

As soon as he was gone, the lights and the rest of the power came back on. The movie picked up right where it left off but we were no longer interested in _The Talented Mr. Ripley_. Something had just happened and none of us were quite sure what that something was.

"What…the…hell…was…that?" Trini asked cautiously, a hint of fear littering her voice.

I turned towards Kim who had tears in her eyes and she buried her face against my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly, looking over at Jason who was doing the exact same thing with Trini. I could see the fear in his eyes though, and I knew I had the same look that he was wearing.

"Is is possible?" Jason asked in a whisper as I shrugged my shoulders "I thought you guys destroyed that guy years ago."

"I don't know, man, but I wouldn't doubt it. Nothing should surprise us anymore," I answered "But if he's back, he's gonna want revenge and we have nothing to defend ourselves with. We'll be sitting ducks if he attacks us."

"Tommy, tell me that wasn't real. Tell me he's not back!" Kim demanded frantically, crying against my shirt "It can't be real. He can't be back. It's not possible. Oh my God, it is possible, isn't it?"

"I'M AFRAID SO, KIMBERLY!" another familiar voice boomed, echoing throughout the house and causing both girls to jump this time "COME QUICKLY, THERE IS MUCH TO EXPLAIN!"

Jason and I looked back at each other in a jumble of shock, fear and confusion. Kim's knuckles were white from gripping my hand so tightly and none of us had any clue as to how to react to everything.

_Had that just happened? Had all of that really just happened?_ I asked myself silently _And if it had, what did he mean by telling us to come quickly? It's not like we can tele…_

As soon as the word "teleport" had entered my thought process, I felt a sudden weight clamp down on my left wrist. I didn't even have to look at it to know what it was and, without hesitation, I got the others on their feet as we stood side-by-side.

"I'm sure he's got answers, guys," I said confidently, even though I was unsure "Let's just see what's going on."

Kim, Jason and Trini all nodded their heads in unison as, all at once, we pushed the familiar button and disappeared in a flash of light. Teleporting again was incredible. We didn't have the ability to teleport on the Dino Thunder team and the rush of doing it again was simply unreal.

We touched down a few seconds later and immediately tried to figure out where we were. I had never seen this place and I was sure that meant the others hadn't seen it either. A vague wave of nostalgia wafted over me at the look of so many new yet oddly familiar things.

"WELCOME HOME, MY FRIENDS," his voice boomed again as we all turned around. He was no longer encased in a tube and was now just a very bright projection. "I AM SORRY WE ARE MEETING AGAIN UNDER SUCH UNPLEASANT CIRCUMSTANCES. IT WAS MY WISH TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN BUT NOT LIKE THIS."

"Why did you bring us here, Zordon?" I asked as the others winced at the sound of his name "What's going on? Is he really back?"

"PATIENCE, TOMMY, ALL WILL BE EXPLAINED IN DUE TIME. OVER TEN YEARS AGO, I SUMMONED FIVE TEENAGERS WITH ATTITUDE TO DEFEND EARTH FROM RITA REPULSA," he began "NOW, THE TIME HAS COME TO CALL UPON SIX ADULTS THAT I STILL HOPE CARRY THAT SAME ATTITUDE AS THEY DID IN THEIR YOUTH. TOMMY, JASON, KIMBERLY AND TRINI, I BELIEVE WE HAVE VISITORS."

We all spun around and looked to see Billy and Zack emerge from the shadows of what I had now determined to be the new Command Center. They had knowing looks and smiles on their faces as they approached us slowly.

"We're back, guys," Zack said excitedly.

"Affirmative," Billy added.

"But, Zordon, how is this possible?" Kim asked, wheeling around to face the projection.

"WHEN I CAME TO TOMMY IN HIS DREAMS, I TOLD HIM THAT ALL THINGS WERE POSSIBLE WHERE THE POWER RANGERS WERE CONCERNED. I KNEW THIS DAY MIGHT COME, I JUST PRAYED YOU ALL WOULD BE GONE FROM THIS WORLD WHEN IT HAPPENED," he answered seriously "WHEN ANDROS DESTROYED MY ENERGY TUBE, IT CREATED A WAVE OF GOODNESS, WIPING OUT ALL EXISTING EVIL AND RESTORING THE POWERS LONG SINCE DESTROYED. YOU HAVE HEARD HIS WARNING. HE IS REAL AND WILL ATTEMPT TO DESTROY ANYONE WHO STANDS IN HIS WAY. IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS BUT GREAT CONFIDENCE THAT I ASK YOU ALL TO CLAIM YOUR RIGHTFUL PLACES AS DEFENDERS OF THE WORLD."

"Zordon, we aren't kids anymore. We have lives and jobs and families now," Jason replied as I tried not to chuckle at how stupid that sounded.

We had lives and families when we were kids, school was our job and we managed to balance all of that. True, the risks would be greater now but I, ignorantly, saw no immediate reasons why we couldn't do it until Kim spoke up.

"I have a son, Zordon. I can't be a Ranger again without putting him at risk," Kim interjected as the thought of Nathan hit me and dimmed the excitement I was feeling "He's too important to me to lose in a battle. I'm sorry, guys, but I can't do this now. Call Kat or Aisha but I won't lose my son to some maniac with a grudge."

I looked over at Kim as tears filled her eyes. She wanted to do it, I could see it in her eyes even as they became clouded by the tears. If Kim wasn't going to do it, there was no way in hell I was going to do it. Zordon's plans had blown up before they had even been put into action.

"THIS IS NO ORDINARY COMMAND CENTER YOU STAND IN, KIMBERLY. WHAT IF I TOLD YOU WE COULD PROTECT NATHAN, MY PTERODACTYL?" Zordon asked as Kim looked back at him in surprise "TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION YOUR CURRENT LIVES AND SITUATIONS, I HAVE ESTABLISHED LIVING QUARTERS HERE FOR ALL OF YOU IN THE HOPES THAT HAVING EVERYTHING HERE FOR YOU WOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO ACCEPT MY OFFER. I AM INVITING ALL OF YOU TO MAINTAIN A RESIDENCE HERE, EVEN NATHAN. ALPHA 5 WILL LOOK OVER HIM TO MAKE SURE HE MAINTAINS ANY SCHOOLING YOU DESIRE AS WELL AS WATCH OVER HIM WHEN YOU DO BATTLE."

Kim looked at me in surprise as if she wanted an answer from me but I had nothing to give to her. Zordon had done everything possible to make this work and I wanted to do it, even if it meant telling Nathan who his mom and I really were.

"I'll do it under a few conditions," Kim muttered as a smile spread across my face "First, Tommy and I have to talk to Nathan. I won't do it unless he understands what is going on. Secondly, if he agrees, I'll have to enroll him in a home school program but Alpha _has_ to make sure he's doing everything he's supposed to and not let him slack off. If you can go for those conditions, Zordon, then you have a Pink Ranger."

"IF THAT IS WHAT IT TAKES TO MAINTAIN THE HEART OF THE TEAM, THEN SO BE IT," Zordon answered.

Excitedly, I rushed over to Kim and picked her up into a huge bear hug. Billy and Zack had already agreed and I didn't have to verbalize it to let them know how I felt. The only two who were left to decide were Jason and Trini.

"What about you guys?" I asked, shifting my attention to Jason and Trini "Are you guys in? You know we can't do it without red and yellow."

Jason looked at Trini as if neither of them had a definite answer for us. He stuck his chin between his thumb and pointer finger, stroking it like he was thinking really hard about it.

"Let's see, here. I have a nine-to-five job that I'm in love with, a wife, kids, responsibilities and I live paycheck to paycheck," he responded as we all started to laugh "I just don't see how I can do it but I guess I'll give it a try. How 'bout you, Ms. Kwan?"

"If it will get me out of Sacramento, I'll do it," she answered with a smile "Consider red and yellow back in, guys."

"YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW PLEASED I AM TO HERE YOU ALL SAY THOSE WORDS. YOU ALL HAVE BECOME REMARKABLE PEOPLE AND THE WORLD WILL BE SAFE IN YOUR HANDS," Zordon began "KIMBERLY, TOMMY, WHEN WILL YOU SPEAK WITH NATHAN ABOUT THIS AND GET HIS ANSWER?"

"He's at a birthday party tonight. It's his first sleepover and I don't want to take him away from his friends but I guess we have to," Kim replied "We'll talk to him tonight and get back to you with our answer."

"VERY WELL THEN. I SENSE YOU WILL NEED THESE TO MAKE YOUR EXPLANATION EASIER TO UNDERSTAND," he said as our old Morphers appeared in our hands "JASON, BOLD AND POWERFUL, ONE AGAIN YOU SHALL COMMAND THE TYRANNOSAURUS. ZACHARY, CLEVER AND BRAVE, THE MASTODON HAS RETURNED TO ITS' RIGHTFUL OWNER. KIMBERLY, GRACEFUL AND SMART, THE PTERODACTYL WILL ANSWER TO YOU ONCE MORE. BILLY, PATIENT AND WISE, YOU WILL BE RECONNNECTED TO THE TRICERATOPS. AND TRINI, FEARLESS AND AGILE, THE SABERTOOTH TIGER IS YOURS AGAIN."

That was all well and good, they had gotten their powers back but I was sitting there holding a Morpher with no coin. Silently, I hoped Zordon had something in mind for me.

"Zordon, what about Tommy?" Zack asked before I could "What Zord is he going to control?"

"UNFORTUNATELY, LORD ZEDD DESTROYED THE GREEN RANGER POWERS PERMANENTLY AND I COULD NOT RECOVER THEM," he answered "TOMMY, YOU ARE THE LEADER OF THIS TEAM, STRONG, FEARLESS AND COURAGEOUS. YOUR ZORD IS UP TO YOUR CHOOSING. BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE."

We all turned around in unison as the familiar sphere lit up and the screen came into view. The picture showed the Tigerzord running through the desert, carrying the Falconzord which had attached its' talons to the back of the Tigerzord.

"THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN A FASTER, MORE AGILE APPROACH IS NEEDED IN WHICH CASE YOU HAVE THE FALCONZORD BUT THERE WILL BE TIMES AS WELL WHEN A STRONGER AND MORE STRAIGHTFORWARD ATTACK WILL BE REQUIRED IN WHICH CASE YOU MAY CALL ON THE TIGERZORD," Zordon continued "BOTH ZORDS HAVE BEEN RECONFIGURED TO BE ABLE TO FORM THE TIGERMEGAZORD AND FALCONMEGAZORD IF NEED BE."

"Two Zords?" I asked in a shocked whisper "That's incredible. Guys, this is amazing. We're back. We're really doing it again."

"_WE _aren't doing anything until _WE_ have a talk with Nathan," Kim interjected loudly. Leave it to her to spoil all the fun, right? "Guys, we need to go. We'll call you once we've talked to Nathan and had a chance to really figure everything out, okay?'

"VERY WELL, KIMBERLY. GO NOW AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU BOTH," Zordon said as we nodded our heads, touched the button on the communicators and disappeared in beams of pink and white light.

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"Nathan, stay in your room okay," Kim commanded "Tommy and I need to talk to you. We'll be back in a minute."

Nathan was crying and banging his fists against his bed. He had been dragged unwillingly from his first sleepover party with no explanation and I could understand why he was upset. If only he understood that we hadn't done it with bad intentions, this whole situation would have been a hell of a lot easier on all of us, including Nathan.

"But I didn't do anything! Why am I in trouble?!" he shouted as Kim closed the door behind him "This isn't fair! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"So what's the plan, Beautiful?" I asked quietly "I mean, it's not like we can just morph and storm in there, can we?"

"That might be the easiest way," Kim muttered, surprising me a little "Are you ready, Tommy?"

I nodded my head slowly, putting my arm behind my back and summoning my Morpher. I looked over at Kim and gave her a small nod as she did the same thing.

"It's Morphin' Time," I muttered, careful not to let Nathan hear.

"Pterodactyl," Kim said in a whisper as she became enveloped by the familiar uniform. It looked the same except it was more metallic and shinier than it had been before.

"Uh, White Ranger Power?" I guessed, not knowing if I should call on the Tiger or the Falcon but it was irrelevant because the call worked just fine and Kim moved to the door, knocking lightly.

"Nathan, can we come in sweetie?" she asked gently as Nathan grumbled that she could.

The look on his face when we entered the room in full Ranger gear was priceless. He looked scared and excited at the same time. Slowly, Kim started to unclasp her helmet and motioned for me to do the same.

"You guys are Power Rangers?" he asked in shock "No way. This is so cool."

"It's not as cool as you think, buddy," I answered, taking a seat on the bed next to him "I know this is going to seem weird but your mom and I were Power Rangers when we were kids. That's how we met each other. A really bad guy is going to attack Earth and a friend has asked us to become Power Rangers again and help save the world."

"You guys are Power Rangers?" he asked again as we both nodded.

"Nathan, the world needs our help but we can't do it if you aren't okay with it. A lot of stuff is going to change if we do this. We're going to have to move away into a special place where no one can hurt you and you're going to have to leave your friends at school," Kim said softly as her eyes filled with tears "I know this must seem strange but me, Tommy, Uncle Jason and our other friends are the only people who can do this. We have to know now if you're okay with this. Nathan, are you okay with moving away for a little while so mommy and Tommy can keep the world safe?"

"Can I have strawberry ice cream with em-em-em's?" he asked innocently as I tried to contain my laughter "Just kidding! I can't believe you're Power Rangers. I'll move away so you can fight the bad guys."

Nathan jumped off the bed, punching and kicking the air as Kim wiped the tears from her eyes. Here we were, just a couple years shy of thirty, preparing to do the same thing we had done as teenagers but this time with a child involved. He was so cute and innocent, not understanding just what was at stake and what his mom, myself, Jason and all our friends were really planning on doing.

He didn't care that his only friend for awhile besides us was going to be a fully sentient, multi functional automaton or that he'd have to live in the Command Center. He was just excited that Kim and I were Power Rangers and, for now, that was all the encouragement we needed to contact Zordon with a positive confirmation on our status as Rangers.

We spent the next few hours, pacing back and forth throughout the house and packing as many things as we could possibly take with us. Jason had called to find out our decision and had told us only to bring clothes and personal possessions because the Command Center had every amenity available already.

Kim pulled pictures off the walls, tables and everywhere else in the house, placing them carefully in a duffel bag while I helped Nathan pack some clothes and toys. He bounced around the room excitedly at the knowledge that we were Power Rangers, occasionally trying to throw a punch or kick at me which I would easily deflect. I was trying to pack Nathan's stuff, teach him proper form and focus on the real task at hand all at the same time.

Finally, we were all packed and the time came for us to leave Kim's house. She looked torn at leaving but equally excited at the prospect of the future as she picked Nathan up and held him in her arms. I wrapped my arm around her waist, making sure all our bags were close enough to teleport with us and then touched the side of the communicator as we disappeared in beams of white and pink light.

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"Mommy, who's the floating man?" Nathan asked as he tugged at the leg of Kim's pants. Zordon had shown back up right after we arrived and apparently, had scared Nathan.

"MY NAME IS ZORDON, NATHAN, AND I AM FRIENDS WITH YOUR MOTHER AND TOMMY. I ASSURE YOU, YOU NEEDN'T FEAR ME," Zordon answered in Kim's place "ALPHA 5! SHOW NATHAN TO HIS QUARTERS AND MAKE SURE HE IS COMFORTABLE. THERE ARE URGENT MATTERS TO ATTEND TO!"

"Ay-yi-yi, right away, Zordon," Alpha chimed and extended his robotic hand for Nathan to take which he did, albeit hesitantly "Come on, Nathan. We're going to have so much fun together."

Nathan looked up at Kim who gave him a smile and an encouraging head nod as Alpha led him towards a row of elevators. Kim and I watched him intently until the elevator door closed behind them and then turned back to Zordon.

"What's going on Zordon?" I asked "What's so urgent?"

"BEHOLD THE VIEWING GLOBE, RANGERS!" he commanded as all six of us turned around obediently "AS YOU CAN SEE, THERE IS AN ATTACK BEING LAUNCHED ON ANGEL GROVE. YOU MUST MORPH NOW AND TELEPORT THERE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE INNOCENT CIVILAINS ARE ATTACKED."

Jason looked over at me with an aura of pure confidence in his eyes, like he was ready for anything that could, and most likely would, happen. Slowly, I turned my gaze to everyone else, all of them looking just as physically and mentally prepared as Jason did.

"Alright then, guys. Let's do it," I muttered "It's Morphin' Time!"

"Mastodon!" Zack called out.

"Pterodactyl!" Kim followed.

"Triceratops!" Billy continued.

"Sabertooth Tiger!" Trini yelled.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason added.

"White Ranger Power!" I finished as the rush of power washed over me.

We stood there in silence, waiting for Zordon's commands. He instructed us to head for the business district of Angel Grove and we all nodded, teleporting out of the Command Center in a flash of light.

As soon as we landed in the city, we were immediately attacked by an army of creatures. We quickly engaged them, knocking a few back before establishing defensive stances and waiting for them to make their move. It didn't take long for them to do it and their lack of thought towards their attack clearly showed. Even though they outnumbered us dramatically, we made relatively quick work of them.

"I guess the old saying still has some truth," Billy muttered as he stood over one of the creatures and cocked his fist back.

"What's that?" Zack called out, kicking one of them into a pole.

"You ooze," Billy answered as he drove his fist into the chest of one of the creatures and then pulled it back, covered in purple goo "You lose."

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky and the creatures were gone but as they disappeared, another figure took their place. He was standing on top of an apartment building, pointing his finger at us and snarling.

"You will be destroyed for what you did to me all those years ago!" he shouted angrily "You have been warned. The Ooze…is back!"

Lighting flashed again and, just like that, he was gone as quickly as he had appeared. We all looked around, making sure no one was watching us and then powered down. Kim was the first person I looked at and I could tell she was still afraid so I went to her side and hugged her tightly around the waist.

"I hate to admit it, guys, but I think we're in this for the long haul," Jason muttered, putting his arm around Trini who nodded in agreement.

"Affirmative," Billy added "Ivan's probably going to be even tougher than he was before."

"I don't care how tough he is," I said confidently "We're still gonna get him and when we do, I'm gonna personally make sure he'll never mess with us again."

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	15. Fighting Words

_Jason's POV_

This is all so crazy right now. The six of us are all Rangers again and I can't say that I'm not excited. We aren't kids anymore though and things are going to be a lot different now but at least we have the element of experience on our side. We know what to expect and we know how to deal with it.

We've only been Rangers again for a few days but it is easy to remember why I loved doing it so much. That rush of power you get when you morph or that unbelievable feeling of piloting a huge machine like the Tyrannosaurus Zord. It all just feels so incredible.

Being back with Tommy and the four who started it all with me is an amazing feeling. Being on the Zeo team was cool but it wasn't the same as fighting side-by-side with my best friends. Fighting with Adam, Rocky, Kat and Tanya was fine, they just weren't Zack, Billy, Kim and Trini that's all.

Having my original powers and Zord back is something I had never expected to happen. Everything's moving so fast just like it did when we were teenagers. We've already been pulled from our regular lives to take up the mantle again and, while I'm glad Zordon called us instead of creating a new team, part of me just wants that simple life. I liked being able to stay up until four in the morning, playing video games with my friends and sleeping until noon. But that's all gone now and things have changed dramatically.

I guess it's just a different feeling, fighting again. It didn't feel like this when Tommy called for the moon mission. When I got that call from him I wanted nothing more then to jump back in the saddle, guns a-blazing and take care of business. It's definitely different now and I'm feeling things I haven't felt in a really long time.

Honestly though, I'm scared. For the first time in a long time, I'm really truly scared. I didn't have to fight Ivan the first time and now that he's back, I don't know if we're going to be able to take him. He's not Rita or Zedd. His plans don't involve corny monsters or silly tactics, he goes right for the kill and he doesn't stop until he has what he wants or someone stops him first. I just hope we have what it takes to stop him before he does something terrible.

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_Tommy's POV_

_Well, it's now or never_ I said silently as I opened the door to the old brick building _This is going to be with you forever, Oliver. Are you sure you want to do this? What if something happens like before? You never know…_

The thoughts raced back and forth in my head as I took a deep breath and slowly entered the building on the outskirts of Angel Grove. I had gone alone, not telling anyone where I was going, and my cell had rung at least a half dozen times. Not wanting to tell anyone what I was doing, I had turned my phone off when I arrived and left it in the car.

I had always wanted to do this but never had a real reason to in the past. Now I had a legitimate reason, in my opinion, to show Kim and the others just how much they all meant to me.

To say this trip had been impulsive and spur of the moment would be a definite understatement, all I know is when I rolled over in the bed Kim and I shared at the Command Center, I wanted to do it. Speaking of the Command Center, man that thing is amazing now.

Kim and I shared living quarters but they were more like their own apartment than the simple bedroom I had been expecting. We have our own personal kitchen with everything we could ever need, a living room with a flat screen television, DVD player, XBOX, couch and recliner and then there was the bedroom. It was bigger than my bedroom and Kim's combined with a huge king sized bed, another flat screen on the wall, two big dressers and a good sized bathroom that connected to it. I'm sure you all know what my thoughts were when I saw just how big the shower really was.

And that's just _our_ living area. Jason and Trini share a flat like ours but theirs is painted red and yellow whereas ours was pink and white. Zack and Billy each had their own separate quarters as well that were just a little smaller than ours since they didn't have to share with anyone. And Nathan, oh man the look on his face when we got back from fighting the Oozemen and he drug Kim and I in there was priceless.

Kim was wealthy and had enough money to give Nathan everything he ever wanted but he had things in his room that he never even dreamed of having. I mean, what five year-old kid wouldn't be excited to find he had a refrigerator fully stocked with his favorite drinks and snacks just a few feet from his bedroom?

There was also a small mess hall for if we wanted to eat as a team, a common room with multiple televisions, couched and recliners and we had a gym that I knew would be getting plenty of use. The gym had stations set up for all our personal needs, too; balance beams and bars for Kim, weights for Jason, Zack and I, the place had everything. I thought it was going to be tough moving away and living in the Command Center but as soon as my head hit that pillow last night, all that washed away which brings us back to my little excursion.

"So that's what you want, eh?" the guy sitting across from me asked as I nodded my head. He had piercings all over his face and he looked like he didn't want to be there but he was getting paid and that's all that mattered to him.

"Yep, right here," I answered, rolling up my shirt sleeve and pointing to my bicep "And then I want those letters and numbers underneath it."

"Whatever you say, boss," he replied shortly, rubbing some liquid on my arm.

The sound of the electric needle being started up was a little nerve racking and I had expected it to hurt when it met my flesh but it was more of an uncomfortable tickle than a real pain. We sat there in relative silence for almost three hours, only occasionally exchanging bits of small talk before the silence would come back.

When it was all said and done, I couldn't have been happier with my decision and I just hoped Kim liked it as much as I did. There was a lot of significance behind the tattoo I had wanted since I was a kid and finally having it now meant a lot to me. It was perfect in every way, better than I had imagined it and I made sure to tip the guy a little bit extra for the job he did. That was the only time he smiled, when I shoved the extra twenty into his hands.

By the time I had left the tattoo parlor I had fourteen missed calls and nine new voicemails, at least one from all five of my teammates. We had all agreed that we couldn't just stay in the Command Center 24/7 so Zordon had found a place a few miles outside of the Command Center where we could leave our cars under some sort of force field like the one that protected the Command Center without them being found and when we wanted to go somewhere, we'd just teleport to our vehicles.

That's what I had done at eight that morning before everyone had woken up and that's what I was doing at noon when I drove my Jeep into the designated area, hopped out and teleported back to the Command Center. As soon as I landed in our bedroom, Kim got up from the desk with tears in her eyes, pounced on me and tackled me onto the bed.

"Where the hell were you!?" she asked loudly, punching me in the arm "You had all of us worried sick! You just disappear without calling or leaving a note? And then you don't even answer your goddamn phone!?"

I knew she was mad but I couldn't help smiling at how cute she looked and as her face got redder and redder her punches got softer and softer until my smile had broken her anger. I reached up and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her against me gently.

"I'm okay, Beautiful. I just had something I wanted to do and I didn't want to be interrupted," I explained softly "Come on, let's go find the others. I want to show you all what I was doing. Where's Nathan? "

"He's in his room watching cartoons with the Alphas," she answered as I looked at her in surprise over her pluralizing Alpha "Alpha 6 is here too. Zordon teleported him here from the Megaship this morning. Nathan thinks it's so cool to have robots for friends but I'm worried because he's not going to get to interact with kids his own age."

"He'll be fine, Kim. He's a tough one, just like his mom," I said reassuringly with a smile "It's not like we're going to be doing this forever, either. It may be awhile but eventually Nathan will be able to go back to a normal life. I know better than anyone how hard it is to adjust but Nathan has you and me and I think we make a pretty good support system."

She wanted to argue with me but I had made way too good of a point for her to contend with. When we left the team none of us had anyone to turn to for help. Nathan wasn't even a Ranger and when all this was done he had Kim and I to turn to, plus the others, to help him readjust to normal life.

"I guess you're right, Tommy, but that doesn't make it any easier to deal with," she answered softly "So what was so damn important that you had to do without telling any of us where you were going?"

I stood up and smiled at her as I rolled up my shirt sleeve for her to see. The tattoo was still covered in gauze and tape but I think she knew what I had done. Slowly, I started to pull apart the makeshift bandage until my whole arm was exposed.

The tattoo was amazing and it suited me well, I think. The main part of it was a falcon that was pointed to the sky as if it was trying to fly off my arm. Underneath the falcon were the numbers "6-4-1," the six symbolizing all of us as Rangers, the four being like the word "for," and the one to show that we were united and would always be there if needed, six for one.

Underneath the numbers was the world "ALWAYS" in fancy cursive writing. The guy at the tattoo parlor had thought it would look better in all black but I had insisted on making the first A red, then yellow for the L, black for the W, blue for the second A, pink for the Y and white for the S. He looked at me a little funny when I made my rainbow request but it was my tattoo and that's what I wanted.

"Tommy, it's beautiful. I just can't believe you did it," Kim muttered, tracing her fingers around it "So much detail. It really is amazing."

"Thanks," I answered, pulling my sleeve back down "Now let's go find the others so they can see it too."

I got up off the bed and took her hand in mine as we walked out of the room together. For as nice and comfortable as the Command Center was, getting around the place was a hassle to say the least. There were so many twists, turns, rooms, hallways and corridors that hadn't been there before and, if you didn't follow the arrows and signs on the walls, it was easy to get lost.

Eventually, we found the others in the common room, sitting on the couches and watching the news with their backs towards Kim and I. I cleared my throat loudly as they all spun around and let out collective sighs of relief when they saw that I was okay. Then, just like Kim had done, they stood up to pounce on me but luckily Kim was there to stand in front of me, holding her hand up and preventing the attack.

"Guys, it's okay, I already gave him the runaround," Kim said sternly "Everything is fine but Tommy has something to show you guys."

They all stared at my arm in surprise as I rolled my sleeve back up and showed them the tattoo. I would have liked to explain it all in more depth and detail but the Command Center alarm went off almost as soon as I had revealed it and they all took off running down the hall. I yelled for them, calling them back as I held up my hand and pointed to my wrist.

"Why run when you can fly?" I asked, pushing the button and disappearing in a flash of light.

I landed in the main room of the Command Center and then leaned up against one of the control panels. When they arrived a few seconds later I yawned loudly, acting really bored as Kim playfully slapped me on the arm.

"Zordon, we came as soon as we heard the alarm," Jason said in his best leader voice "What's going on out there?"

"I'M AFRAID IVAN OOZE HAS LAUNCHED ANOTHER ATTACK ON THE CITY. SOMEHOW, HE WAS ABLE TO REVIVE GOLDAR AND HE, ALONG WITH A GROUP OF OOZEMEN ARE ATTACKING NEAR THE YOUTH CENTER," he said to us "THERE IS NO TIME TO EXPLAIN HOW IVAN DID IT. YOU MUST GO NOW BEFORE CIVILIANS ARE SERIOUSLY INJURED."

"Goldar's mine," I said sternly "You guys take out the Oozemen but me and Goldilocks have unfinished business to attend to."

"You and me both, bro," Jason interjected "We'll take Goldar together. I want to get my hands on him just as much as you do."

"Fine. Are you guys all ready?" I asked, looking around as they all nodded their heads "It's Morphin' Time!"

We called for our powers and as soon as we were morphed, Zordon teleported us just a few feet away from where Goldar was. He had his forearm against Ernie's throat and had him pinned against the building, his sword just inches from Ernie's neck.

"Put him down you overgrown monkey!" Kim yelled, causing Goldar to turn around in surprise also letting go of Ernie "Take care of him, guys. I'm going to help Ernie."

Jason and I immediately engaged Goldar while Zack, Billy and Trini went after the Oozemen and Kim ran to Ernie's side to help him. Goldar pointed his sword at the two of us and started charging wildly. Jason and I held our ground firmly until the last possible second and when Goldar was just within striking distance we stepped to the side, each sticking out a foot and tripping the winged Titan.

"Well, I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks," Jason muttered as Goldar pounded his fist into the ground and got back on his feet.

"You'll pay for that humans," he snarled as I rolled my eyes under my helmet. Like I hadn't heard that line a thousand times already.

"Here's the deal, Goldar," I said as I pulled out Saba and started twirling him around "Either you take a walk right now or my old friend here is gonna get angry. You won't like him when he's angry."

"Are you serious?" Jason asked under his breath "Did you really just quote _The Incredible Hulk_?"

"Shut up," I muttered in reply, grinning under my helmet as Goldar started to run towards us again "Up and over, bro!"

Jason took the hint and a step back before launching himself over me and into a kick that connected squarely with Goldar's chest plate. He stumbled backwards and into a tree before pointing his sword at us, shooting bolts of energy that sent Jason and I flying in opposite directions.

"Okay, maybe I was wrong," Jason groaned, pushing himself slowly to his feet.

"Come on, monkey breath. We're gonna settle this right now!" I yelled as I charged at Goldar and swung Saba at him.

Sparks flew from his chest when Saba connected, sending him staggering back a few feet. Jason didn't give him any time to regroup either and he came flying through the air with his Power Sword, slicing at Goldar again and causing him to fly into a tree.

Somewhere, probably on the moon, Ivan must not have liked what he was seeing because a few seconds later, the others came to our side after taking care of Ernie and the Oozemen and purple bolts of lightning started hitting Goldar. He started convulsing and I thought he was being attacked by some outside force but suddenly he shot up a good fifty or sixty feet in the air. In the back of my head, I was glad to see that the basic plot hadn't changed at least.

"Shit," I mumbled "He's ugly enough when he's normal size. I think it's time for the heavy artillery guys."

"I agree," Jason replied, pointing his hand towards the sky "We need Dinozord Power, now!"

The old Zords came out of their familiar locations and my heart skipped a beat when the screech of the Pterodactyl Zord reached my ears. Kim and I both turned to look at it in unison as it emerged from the volcano and started flying towards us.

"I think it's that time again, old friend," I said excitedly, pulling Saba back out of his sheath "Tigerzord, power up!"

Rumbling in the distance came the sound of the Tigerzord, its feet slapping against the dirt as it ran towards me and I jumped onto the head. With an energy ball in one hand and Saba in the other, we let out the old call together.

"White Tiger, Tiger Mode, Battle Ready now," we said in unison as we entered the cockpit and I put Saba in his place and called out "Tigerzord, convert to Warrior Mode!"

"Alright team, power up your crystals!" Jason yelled and I couldn't help but chuckle at the nostalgia I was feeling "We need Megazord Power!"

_Megazord sequence has been initiated_ it said as the machine began to come together and stand vertically _Megazord activated._

I never understood why the monsters never tried to attack while we summoned our Zords but I guess it doesn't really matter. A few seconds later, the original Megazord was standing side-by-side with my Tigerzord and we were ready to fight.

I got the first punch in, connecting with Goldar's chest as the Tigerzord followed every move I made in the cockpit just like it had always done. Between my Tigerzord and the Megazord, we ended up trading blows with Goldar back and forth for a few minutes until he eventually got the upper hand and sent both Zords tumbling to the ground.

He pointed his sword at us tauntingly as we tried to regroup. Slowly, we brought our Zords back to their feet, preparing to mount another attack against him.

"I've had enough of your games, Goldar. White Tiger Thunderbolt!" I summoned, placing one of the energy orbs into the cannon "Fire!"

The ball of red energy shot out loudly as it flew towards Goldar and connected, sending him flying and onto his back. I looked up towards the sky for just a brief moment but it was enough time to see that Jason had summoned the old Power Sword and that it was flying towards the Megazord's outstretched hand.

Goldar had gotten back to his feet and the sword was quickly powering up but just as the Megazord started to swing it at Goldar, he disappeared from the battlefield. And just like that, our second battle as Rangers again was over but we all knew that it was only a minor battle in what was going to become a much larger war.

As soon as Goldar was gone, we sent the Zords back to the docking bay and ran over to where Ernie was laying on the grass. Zack and I managed to get him on his feet and carried him into the Youth Center while Jason cleared everyone out and Trini locked the door behind the departing customers.

Once the coast was clear, we took Ernie into the backroom, locked that door and removed our helmets in unison. Kim had a genuine look of concern on her face as Ernie let our a flurry of violent coughs from being choked by Goldar.

"He knows that I know," Ernie choked out "He just showed up when I was taking out the trash and demanded I tell him where you were."

Ernie was the only adult besides Haley to know our secret and none of us had really taken into consideration how much danger he was going to be put in because he knew who we were. Kim and I looked at each other, fear littering both our faces. A good friend had almost died because he knew something he shouldn't have. If Ivan was willing to go this far to hurt us, any thoughts or preconceived notions we had about him were going out the window.

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_Two hours later_

Kimberly and I had spent the better part of an hour in a full on yelling match. It was our first real fight ever and I hated the feeling I got in my stomach when she stormed out of our bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

When we had finally gotten Ernie to tell us what had happened, Kim's immediate reaction was to tell Ernie that he had to get out of Angel Grove and find a safer place to live. Ernie, and the rest of us for that matter, didn't think it was that serious and Ernie had downright refused to just leave the Youth Center behind, citing the need for kids to have a safe place to hang out.

I agreed with Ernie and I think that is what pissed Kim off so much. She told me during our fight that she wasn't expecting everyone to side with her but that she at least thought she could depend on me. That was what hurt the most, the fact that she had said she couldn't depend on me.

Angrily, I stormed out of the room to try and find Kim but as soon as I got into the hallway Jason was standing right there. I still tried to go after her but he grabbed me and threw me in the other direction.

"What the fuck was that for!?" I yelled, getting in his face.

"Because you need to calm your ass down before you do something stupid!" he shot back "You and Kim just had a fight. Going in there all headstrong and pissed off isn't going to help, it's just going to make things harder to fix."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked sarcastically as tears filled my eyes and I broke down "I didn't want to fight with her, Jase. I promised Nathan I'd never make her cry and now she's running around the Command Center crying because of me. She said she couldn't depend on me, Jase. Do you have any idea what that fee…"

Jason put a comforting arm around me and pulled me into a tight, brotherly hug before I could finish my sentence. I tried to regain my composure but it wasn't working very well. I didn't want Kim to be mad at me, especially not over something like disagreeing over what Ernie should do with his life. I understood that she thought he was in danger but Ernie wasn't Nathan, he was an adult and Kim couldn't tell him what to do. Right after I said that to her was when she stormed out of the room.

I slumped down against the wall and buried my hands in between my arms, crying when Kim reappeared at the far end of the hall. I didn't look up but she must have seen me because her footsteps started getting closer and I heard Jason step in front of her and cut her off.

"You need to talk to him and you need to work this shit out. What happened at the Youth Center was not worth all of _this_," he said sternly and I knew he was talking about me when he lowered his voice but I could still hear him "He loves you more than anything on this planet, Kim. You had a disagreement and you think it's okay to say you can't depend on him? That's bullshit and you know it. And now he's a wreck because you had the audacity to say that to the man that would give his life for you? Unbelievable."

I heard Jason's footsteps growing softer and softer and I knew he had stormed out of the hallway. My head was still buried because I didn't want to look at Kim but, surprisingly, I felt her slide down the wall next to me and rest her head on my shoulder before she started to cry too.

"You and Jason were right. I had no right to tell Ernie what to do and I had no right to talk to you the way I did," she muttered, crying against my shirt sleeve "I'm so sorry, Tommy. I feel terrible and I never should have said you weren't dependable. You're the only dependable man I've ever had in my life and I want you to know that I love you, even if you don't forgive me for what I said."

Then I felt her get up and start walking away. Slowly, I raised my head and looked at her as she walked away before I got back on my feet. When she was almost at the end of the hall I took a deep breath and yelled for her to stop.

"Come here," I said as she turned around and looked at me apprehensively when I opened my arms. I motioned again for her to come and she smiled before running towards me and throwing herself into my arms "I forgive you, Beautiful. I know you were just upset that I didn't agree with you but I just wanted you to see things from a different perspective, that's all. I definitely did not want to make you mad."

"I know, Tommy and you were right. Ernie's not Nathan and I can't tell him what to do," she said softly, burying her face against my chest as I held her tightly "I'm so sorry. I can't tell you enough how sorry I am. I hate the way all of this feels and I don't want us to have another fight ever again."

"Kim, we're going to have fights that's just the way it is. There's going to be times where we think we hate each other and all we want to do is yell and cuss and scream and fight," I said as she winced at what was, sadly, the truth "You're not perfect and neither am I. We're going to make mistakes and have arguments. What's important, though, is that, at the end of the day when we've both said our peace, we can move on and still love each other. As long as we still love each other, no fight can break us apart. That's why I got this, just for you."

She looked over at me as I rolled up my right sleeve this time, revealing the tattoo on my other arm that I hadn't shown anyone yet. It was simple, just a few words and numbers, but it got the point across. In black cursive were the words "Kimberly Ann" and I had intentionally chosen to leave a space for the last name for when we got married, Right underneath her name was the name of a passage from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, which goes something like this…

_Love is patient; love is kind.  
Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.  
It does not insist on its own way: it is not irritable or resentful;  
It does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in truth.  
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  
And now faith, hope, and love abide,  
And the greatest of these is love._

"Why?" she asked, unable to manage anything else.

"Because I love you," I answered very seriously "And because I will always love you no matter what happens."

She threw her arms around my neck, still crying against my shoulder as I struggled to keep her on her feet. The tears had caused her mascara to run and she had black circles under her eyes. In short, she looked like a train wreck…the most beautiful train wreck I had ever seen.

"I love you so much, Tommy," she said, grabbing the sides of my head and kissing me passionately.

We stood there in the middle of the hallway locked in our passionate embrace for close to five minutes until I felt something hit the back of my head. I looked down to see a tennis ball rolling away from me and when I turned my head towards the direction it came from, Zack and Billy were standing there doubled over and laughing at me.

I started to run after them and as soon as they saw me coming they took off in the opposite direction. I was still going to go after them but Kim reached out and grabbed my wrist, spinning me back towards her. She was biting her lip like she always did when she was nervous or excited.

"Stay with me, Tommy. Let's go and watch a movie, just the two of us. We can even cuddle," she said with a smile, knowing how much I loved holding her closely "No sex just you, me, a bottle of wine to keep each other warm all night. How does that sound?"

"No sex, huh? That's gonna be tough," I answered with a grin giving her a quick kiss as I opened the door and backed into our quarters "But I think I can handle it."

"Good," she replied, smacking me on the butt "Go get the wine, I'll pick out the movie. Meet me on the couch in five minutes.

"Why do you get to pick the movie?" I asked teasingly as I kissed her on the cheek.

"Because the last time you picked a movie it ended up bringing us here," she shot back with a grin as I got behind her, wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"Are you complaining, Ms. Hart? Because last time I checked you seemed pretty excited about getting in your Zord this afternoon," I retorted, kissing her on the cheek again as she leaned into me "I have to admit, I can't wait to get that Falconzord back up there and fly with you again."

"You can be my winged lord of the skies again," she replied, turning her head and kissing me on the lips "Just like old times. I want to fly with you forever, my love."

"One day, when this is all done and over with, we'll have our day, sweetheart," I answered confidently "You, me, Nathan and, if you want, anyone else we can create together. I promise you, Beautiful, when Ivan's gone and the world is safe, we will have forever."

But that answer didn't seem good enough for her and she definitely didn't seem to like it much. When she spun around and took my hands in her own with that serious look on her face, I knew I was in for a grilling session.

"But what if we can't beat him again? Or what if we do beat him and someone takes his place?" she asked hesitantly 'What if we never can get away from this?"

"Then I guess Jason would be right," I answered with a grin as she looked at me in confusion, not recalling her first night back with Jase and I "I really would be the first active Ranger to collect Social Security and Medicare."

"Tommy, I'm serious," she replied, slapping me lightly on the chest but even she was smiling at that time "You're amazing, you know that? We have a crisis on our hands that could be the end of the world and you're walking around like you're not even afraid. I wish I had your self-confidence."

"It's not just self-confidence, Kim. It's confidence in you and Jason and Trini and Billy and Zack and Zordon and the Alphas and everyone else too. I couldn't do this without you all," I said honestly, really putting myself out there "I've seen more battles than all of you and I was teammates with Rocky and Adam for as long or longer than I was with anyone else but Billy but with you five 'teenagers with attitude' on my team, I have no reason to be afraid. We're _going_ to do this, Kim. Believe in yourself and believe in your teammates because I believe in you, Beautiful, and I know I can't do this without you by my side every step of the way."

"I could listen to you speak all night, Handsome. You just make me feel safe and comfortable no matter how scared or nervous I am," she said softly, squeezing my hands and kissing me "But the couch is calling our names so go get that wine."

She smacked me on the butt again as I turned around and disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle. When I came back out a few minutes later she had changed into a pair of pink pajama bottoms and an old sweatshirt of mine and was laying on the couch waiting for me. I set her glass down in front of her and then climbed over her so that I was laying behind her body as I wrapped my arm around her and held her tightly.

"So what are we watching?" I asked, kissing the back of her neck.

"I'm watching a preview for what looks like another bad comedy. I don't know what you're watching," Kim answered as I playfully smacked her shoulder.

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play I'll just do this all night and see how long you last," I replied as I kissed her neck again and started tickling the small of her back gently.

"Oh that is so not fair," she shot back, letting out a small moan.

"All's fair in love and war, Beautiful," I retorted with a laugh, still tracing my fingers along her back.

The movie had just started and we were beginning to get comfortable when we heard a high pitched scream coming from the hallway. Kim immediately jumped onto her feet and sprinted out of the room. When I caught up to her a few seconds later, she had her hands on her knees and was laughing loudly.

In the middle of the hallway, Alpha 6 was on his knees and Nathan was riding him like a horse. I walked up behind her and put my arms around her, softly kissing her on the cheek.

"Come on, sweetie, they're just playing," I whispered "Let's let them have their fun so we can go inside and have ours."

She nodded her head and waved goodbye to Nathan as he disappeared around the corner on Alpha's back. We took our places on the couch again but not before a few soft, passionate kisses on the way. I put my arm around her again and, in less than ten minutes, she was asleep in my arms. Reaching behind me, I pulled a blanket off the top of the couch and covered us both, content to fall asleep in the living room with the one person I loved more than anything.


	16. The Truth

_Kim's POV_

I can't believe I said all those nasty terrible, mean things to Tommy. I mean, he's such an amazing and incredible man, always willing to put Nathan and I in front of himself and then I had the audacity to go off the handle and tell him he wasn't dependable? God, I feel like such trash after saying that to him.

Tommy's been the one person in my life that has been there for me every time I asked him to and I know he would have been there for me for those ten long years if I had just called him. I love him more than anything on this Earth but I feel like I'm taking advantage of him and his kindness.

He does everything. He cooks, he cleans, he plays with Nathan, takes care of me, he's a freaking Power Ranger for God's sake and he does it all so selflessly. Even when I don't ask him to do things, it's like he reads my mind and does them anyway.

I didn't ask for this time alone but I wanted it and he knew it. He just smiled at me and nodded his head knowingly as he took Nathan into the common room with Jason to watch a movie, giving me some time to clear my head. Sometimes, I think we have some kind of unexplainable connection that runs deeper than any friendship, relationship or marriage. He knows what I want and what I need without me having to say anything.

Like last night my back was really tight and I was laying on the floor, trying to stretch it out as much as possible. Without saying a word Tommy came in the room and carried me into the bedroom where he proceeded to give me a thirty minute massage.

I don't know if I'm going crazy but I really think there is something weird going on between us, not bad just weird. He literally knows everything I'm thinking without me having to say it out loud. Last night before we went to sleep I was thinking about how nice a hot bath would feel. When I woke up this morning, the water was already running in the tub.

Part of me wants to say something to him, to see if there really is something weird going on but I'm afraid of how he will react. It's not like you can just walk up to someone and just say, Hey are you reading my mind?

It's all just so confusing right now and, more than anything, I just hope he doesn't think I'm content with taking advantage of everything he's doing for Nathan and I. I want to show him how much he means to me but I just don't know what to do. After everything that has happened between us I don't know if there are any words I can say or actions that I can express that would even come close to the things he does. I mean, he got my name tattooed on his arm for God's sake. How do you top that?

All I know is that I love that man more than life itself. I would move heaven and earth to keep him by my side if that's what it took and I take solace in the fact that I know he would do the same for me.

There are times where I can feel his presence and know what he is feeling and thinking too. I can't explain it but it's there and I'm not quite sure if I like it.

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_Tommy's POV_

"Hey Nathan, do you want to run down to the mess hall and grab some sodas for us?" I asked him as he nodded his head and jumped off the couch. When he was out of sight and ear shot I turned to look at Jason on the opposite end of the couch. "She's starting to get suspicious, bro."

"About what?" he asked curiously as I gave him the look that answered his question "You don't really think she knows, do you?"

I looked over at Jason and nodded my head slightly. She didn't know everything but she was starting to have an idea of my special "ability" and was finally beginning to start to understand hers as well. At first, I didn't know how I got it but Zordon had sat me down to explain it to me a few years ago.

A few months before Kim left for Florida I suddenly started feeling strange when I was around her and I would suggest doing things she wanted to do before she even said anything. The ability to know what Kim was feeling and thinking was one of the reasons I didn't try to fight her about Florida. Even though she never said it verbally her thoughts were saying that she wanted to chase her dream and that she hoped I wouldn't fight her on it so, regretfully, I didn't.

It's also one of the reasons I think we got back together so quickly. So many thoughts were swirling through her head that night she came to Jason's and by the time I had separated and deciphered all of them I just didn't have the heart to be angry with her.

I guess I could have found out about Nathan before she even told me but I restrained myself from digging into her brain the night I met him. If something was that important for her to tell me, I was content with letting things go her way, respecting her wishes and not interfering.

She knows now though, or at least she's starting to know. When things had started to get weird those months before Kim left, Zordon had kept me behind in the Command Center to find out what was going on. When I told him that I could actually read Kim's thoughts, he had Alpha run all sorts of tests on me but they couldn't come up with any explanation at all.

Zordon told me that he had seen things like this before but never in a human. His daughter on Eltar had the ability to read the thoughts of the people she loved and we both concluded that that was the explanation we were looking for. I loved Kim so much that, combined with the biological effects of so many different powers, I somehow acquired my ability to connect to her and to read her mind. What I didn't know, however, was that Zordon's knowledge of my abilities ran deeper then what he was telling me and that it'd be quite awhile before I got the explanation I was really looking for.

I felt terrible about reading Kim's mind at times, especially when some of her thoughts were so painful and sad. The day before she left for Florida I probed her mind one last time to find out just how she really felt about me and her thoughts were shocking. She didn't think I would be able to stay faithful with Kat taking her place and her being so far away.

That day was the first day I gave any inclination towards her that I could read her mind because that was the day I made the promise to her that I would love her forever and always be there for her. She looked at me a little strangely that last night we spent together in her room at Aisha's but when we woke up in each other's arms that morning she sure did something I wasn't expecting. She thanked me for making that promise and made the same one to me. One of us clearly didn't hold up our end of the agreement.

Some days when I was younger I wished my mind reading abilities had been able to reach the 6,000 miles across the country to read her mind but she had to be in a relatively close proximity for me to know what she was thinking. After I got the letter, there were days where I'd wake up and try to reach out to her, to see what she was thinking and I'd get little snippets of thoughts but they were never coherent enough to make any assumptions about her state of mind or what her true feelings were about me and our relationship.

I know this is all strange for you guys to try and understand. Hell, it's still hard for me to try and understand. All I know is that if Kim is within a few hundred miles I can feel what she is thinking, how she is feeling, her subconscious needs, wants and desires.

"Do you think I should tell her, bro?" I asked Jason quietly "Do you think it will freak her out or change our relationship?"

"I don't know, man, that's your call," he answered "I don't think it will freak her out but I'm pretty sure it will change your relationship though. I mean, think about how you would feel if Kim had been poking into your thoughts for ten years."

If only he knew the whole story. This was something far deeper than anything I'd ever shared with anyone before. I didn't even have the heart or courage to tell Jason everything and he's my best friend. He got most of it but there was just one thing I couldn't bring myself to share with him.

"She has been. Well not ten years but she's been doing it recently," I whispered with a grin as Jason's mouth fell open in shock "She just doesn't know it yet. She's been reading my thoughts since right after we got back together. It, uh, happened when we, uh, you know, uh...anyways, I've tuned in to my ability over the years but hers is still new which is why I can feel her reach into my brain but she can't feel me. At least she couldn't feel me until recenty."

"Are you fucking serious?" he asked in shock "You mean to tell me that Kim's been reading your thoughts since you got back and you don't even care? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Why should I care? I've been doing it to her for a while and it's not like I think bad or negative things around her. Dirty maybe, but not bad," I answered with another smile "We never did anything serious before she left but as soon as we started getting physical she knew exactly what I wanted, what I liked and what I didn't. She's in my head and it's just a matter of time before she realiz…"

I stopped mid-sentence at the feeling of someone poking around. She was in my head and I wondered if she knew it.

"She's in," I said to Jason who gave me a knowing grin "I think I'm gonna have a little fun with her."

_Hey Kim. I love you sweetheart_ I said in my head, hoping she'd hear me.

_What the hell is going on, Tommy? Why is this happening? _she asked telepathically.

_I think we need to talk, Beautiful._

_I think you're right. Why don't you come join me and we'll talk._

"Keep an eye on Nathan when he gets back," I said sternly to Jason "Kim and I need to talk and this is going to be a long conversation. If I'm going to tell her everything I can't have any interruptions."

"You got it, bro," he replied with a head nod as I retuned the gesture, thanked him and left the common room.

It took me a few minutes to get back to our flat but when I did, Kim was sitting on the couch with a pissed off look on her face. As soon as I walked in the room she was staring bullets at me and I knew it was going to take a lot of explanation to make her understand everything.

"Why didn't you tell me, Tommy?" she asked angrily "How long have you been able to read my thoughts? You just think it's okay to barge into my personal feelings like that? What the hell is wrong with you, huh?"

"Kim, there's more to it than that," I answered, taking a deep breath "So many things happened after you left that you don't even know about. It's not just that, Beautiful, it's so much more."

I sat next to her on the couch, trying to make things more comfortable for what I was going to have to say to her. I tried to take her hands in mine but she quickly yanked them out of my reach.

"No. Just tell me what I don't know about," she shot back but as I opened my mouth to speak she held up her hand "You know what, I don't even want to know. I need some time to sort all of this out."

She got up off the couch and tried to walk away but I knew if I didn't tell her now, I probably never would. I grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her back into a sitting position on the couch.

"No, you're not going to just walk away from me like that," I said as tears started to fill my eyes "When you came back I listened to everything you had to say. When you told me everything about what happened with the breakup and Nathan and his dad I listened and I think you owe me the same courtesy. When I've said my peace, I'll understand if you don't want to be with me anymore but I just want to be totally truthful with you and I want you to know everything that has happened to me. I'm not entirely the person you think I am."

"No shit. That much is obvious," she grumbled "Just tell me whatever it is you have to tell me and get it over with, okay?"

"I will, just promise me you'll try to listen with an open mind," I pleaded desperately "This is hard for me, Kim. I've never told anyone this and I still don't fully understand it all. I know this won't make sense to you, but it's the truth and that's all I can give to you right now."

She nodded her head, refusing to make eye contact with me or even give me a verbal reply. I took another deep breath and tried to remember everything that had happened that day when I found out that my life as I knew it had been nothing more than a bunch of fabrications and lies.

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_Flashback_

Kim had been gone from my life for almost two years. Kat and I had been dating for awhile but it wasn't anything serious and I didn't think it ever would be. The only thing we shared in common was being Rangers and I knew that we wouldn't be Rangers forever and when that day came, we'd probably never see each other again.

As much as I wanted for Kat to take Kim's place I knew it was never going to happen. Taking her place on the team was one thing but she could never take her place in my heart. I had an unexplainable connection to Kimberly and it was something I knew I would never share with any other woman.

Like I said, my ability to read Kim's mind came a few months before she left for the Pan Global Games in Florida. As time went on and we grew closer together, my abilities got stronger and it got to the point where we didn't have to even be in the same room for me to know what she was thinking. Obviously, I couldn't read her thoughts in Florida because she was so far away but for those few months before she left, I felt a stronger and deeper connection to her and it was something only one person could even begin to try and explain to me.

Zordon had a theory that if two people could read minds then they could probably communicate telepathically too. His daughter on Eltar had t he ability to read the thought of the people she loved so he had even summoned her all the way from Eltar just to test his theory and it had worked. I had had a full on conversation with his daughter in front of him and Alpha without saying a word to her or anyone else for that matter.

The thing that got me the most and confused me the most about my ability was that Zordon had said he had never seen it in any human before. I never knew my birth parents and when I was old enough I got every piece of information I could on who they were. Right around the time I got the information I wanted was when I started developing the ability to read Kim's mind.

I took every paper they gave me and cried alone in my room as I read them. There was no man listed as my biological father and the woman listed as my mother on the birth certificate had died literally three days after I had been born.

I wanted to probe deeper into the situation to find out just where I came from but somewhere in my subconscious it told me that it wasn't important. At the time, all that mattered was that I was here and alive and that I had Kim by my side. That all changed though on the day I got the letter at the Youth Center.

I wanted more. I wanted to know every single thing about me and my life up to that point. I wanted to know who my parents were and where they came from. I wanted to know why I was the only one out of all of us who had been Rangers that had the ability to read someone's thoughts.

For two years I tried desperately to get the answers I desired but every clue I got seemed to lead me to another dead end. Then came the day when Adam, Tanya, Kat and I gave our Turbo Powers to Carlos, Ashley, Cassie and TJ and I found out something I never told another person. Not my adoptive parents, not my teammates. Hell, I didn't even tell Jason.

We had just completed the power transfer and I was no longer a Ranger. It was a weird feeling but I got a sense of completion, like I had done everything I could possibly do as a Power Ranger.

When the transfer was complete, everyone went their separate ways but Zordon wanted me to stay for some reason. He had a look on his face that said he had something important to tell me and had requested a private conversation with me.

When Dimitria and everyone else had left, Zordon asked me to take a seat and listen to everything he had to say without interruption. I sat down quietly and listened for close to an hour, each passing moment causing more and more shock to me until all that could be said, had been.

When it was all said and done, I had finally been told everything about my life that I wanted to know but the information I had so desperately desired only made things more confusing. I didn't have birth parents. I wasn't conceived like a normal human and I wasn't born like a normal human either.

My adoptive parents told me when I was younger that I was simply left on their doorstep in a basket with no note or explanation. They had tried having kids for years but had never been able to so they adopted me and raised me as their own. Up until that point, that was the only piece of information from my clouded past that I knew was one-hundred percent true.

Everything Zordon said to me that day made so much sense but I still didn't understand everything. I was the only Ranger who never had any desire to leave the team. When one Ranger left, they were replaced but I never left until I was forced to. But even then, without me knowing, it was Zordon who forced me to leave.

He told me he had watched me change from a shy kid with huge insecurities and emotional problems into a fine young man full of courage and spirit that was ready for whatever curveballs life threw at me. He told me he was proud that he had been able to spend almost five years watching me become the man I was.

He told me he wanted me to have a normal life without having to look over my shoulder every second of every day to see if Putties or Tengas or Cogs or Piranhatrons were going to jump out of the bushes and attack me. He told me that I had done everything that I could possibly do as a Ranger and that he was proud to call me…his son.

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Kim stared at me in shock, her mouth hanging wide open as I finished telling her the story and it took every ounce of strength I had in my body not to reach out and try to figure out what she was thinking.

How do you tell someone that you've known for over a decade and shared so many special moments with that you aren't even sure what or who you are? I didn't know if I was an alien or a human. I mean, I obviously had the body of a human but that didn't help any.

After that day where we gave our powers to the new team, I never got to see Zordon again. That's why I was so distraught when TJ showed up at my house that day in November and told me he was gone. I had so many questions I wanted to ask him but I thought I was never going to get the chance.

The day Zordon told me I was his son, I stormed out of the Command Center refusing to believe that I was the offspring of a floating head. I still had my communicator and he tried to contact me every day for almost a month but I wouldn't speak to him. I just wanted my life to go on as normally as possible, even if that meant not knowing the whole truth about who I was and it was a decision I regretted every day until he came to me in that vision during the camping trip.

I had so many questions I wanted to ask him that day but something told me that that wasn't the right time to do it for some reason. Nothing made sense in my life until the day Zordon called us back and I knew that I would have the opportunity to get the answers I needed. I just prayed that he would still be willing to give them to me after everything I had done to him.

"So you mean to tell me that your Zordon's…son?" Kim asked hesitantly. She was no longer mad but she was definitely curious to say the least. "How is that even possible? How can you be the son of someone who was stuck in a time-warp for millennia upon millennia?"

"I don't know, Kim. I don't know anything beyond what I just told you," I answered honestly as I reached out for her hands again and she let me take them "All I know is that somehow, someway I'm Zordon's son. It explains so much too if you think about it. What was the most important thing in my life outside of you when we were kids? Being a Ranger. I thought all I wanted was to be a part of the team, to be a part of something bigger then me but that wasn't it. Subconsciously, I was trying to be as close to my father as possible."

Kim was still shocked but I was just glad she wasn't angry anymore. I had tears running down my face by this point and she reached out gently to wipe them away but as she wiped one away, more came in its' place. I had kept this bottled up for so long and now that I finally told someone, actually said it out loud, I didn't know how to react to it.

"Okay, so you're Zordon's son. It doesn't make sense but I'll go with it for the sake of the conversation," she muttered "But that still doesn't explain everything. Like, why am I suddenly able to read your thoughts and communicate with you telepathically?"

"If you think about it, Kim, it makes perfect sense," I answered "Tell me something. When was the first time you really felt like you knew what I was thinking or that you felt a stronger connection between us that just didn't seem normal?"

She took a deep breath and looked like she was trying to remember when she had first felt it. I already knew the answer but it wasn't from any mind reading this time so I waited quietly for her to figure it out on her own. Suddenly, her mouth opened wide again as it all began to don on her.

"The day after we had slept together for the first time," she answered sheepishly "That morning when we woke up I felt a stronger connection to you but I thought it was just from us taking that step together that we hadn't taken as kids. I just thought it was, you know, a stronger type of love between us."

"That's partially the right answer. Our love did become stronger but there's a little more to it than that," I said as she looked at me like she wanted more answers so I obliged and continued "I'm at least partially Eltarian, Kim, and Eltarians are the closest things to humans in the universe but we have a slightly different biological makeup. I know it doesn't make sense to you but the one thing I got from Zordon was that Eltarians don't reproduce like humans which is why I never even bothered to ask if you were on the pill or if I should use a condom the night we had sex for the first time or any other times after that. I knew I had no chance of getting you pregnant just from physical intimacy but when we exchanged fluids through making love on that first night, I put a part of me inside you in more ways than one."

Now she had tears in her eyes and I didn't know what to do. This had to have been the biggest shocker of all-time for her but she was dealing with it as best as possible.

I remember how hard it was on me to find out that I wasn't even fully human and that I was some kind of divine creation from someone who was a being of pure good. It was so eerily reminiscent of the Bible and it scared me to think that I had just been created with no procreation or want of a child from the woman who gave birth to me. I knew everything I had just told Kim was tough for her to deal with but she was definitely taking it better than I had expected. She was taking it like a champ.

"So, because we had sex I now have the ability to read your mind and communicate with you telepathically?" she asked hesitantly as I nodded my head slowly "I don't know whether to be overjoyed or furious. I mean, part of me understands why you didn't tell me but another part of me wishes you had just been honest with me."

"Would you have felt differently about me if I had told you the truth from the start?" I asked in reply.

"I…I…I…I don't know," she stammered "I don't think so but I just don't know. I'd like to think that everything would have stayed the same between us though."

"Do you love me, Kim?" I asked as she slowly nodded her head "I'm not asking if you love who you thought I was. I'm asking if you love me for who I really am. I know I'm not the person you thought I was and I'm willing to walk away and leave you alone if you don't want to be with someone like…"

"Like what?" she shot back.

"Like me. I understand if you don't want to be with someone like me," I answered as more tears started to fall "I feel terrible that I lied to you, Kim. You're the only woman I've ever loved and I just didn't think you'd feel the same way if you knew the whole truth."

"Is everything you just told me the whole truth? I know you don't know everything but have you told me everything you know?" she asked and I stared at her right in the eyes and told her it was as she took my hands again "Then you never should have been apprehensive about telling me. You're still a sweet, wonderful, caring, amazing person regardless of where you came from and I still love you, Tommy. This is all going to take some time to get used to but the idea of being able to talk to you telepathically is something I think I could get used to."

"Really? You really mean that, Kim?" I asked excitedly "You still love me after all of this?"

"Yes, Tommy. I do," she answered and then kissed me softly "I just wish you would have told me all of this before. We could have worked everything out before it all came to this."

"I know, Beautiful and I'm sorry that I didn't," I sobbed "But you know the truth now and I still want to be with you if you still want to be with me. I mean, I understand if you don't…"

She held her hand up, cutting me off before I could get the words out of my mouth. She threw her arms around my neck and I buried my head against her shoulder, staining her t-shirt with my tears.

"Stop saying that, Tommy," she said in a whisper "If I didn't want to be with you still I would have already been gone. Things are different now but, in my eyes, you're still the same man I fell in love with in the Youth Center all those years ago when you kicked one of my best friend's ass."

_God, how did I get so lucky? I don't deserve this. I lied to the one woman I care about more than anything on the planet. I don't deserve her love or compassion._

"Yes you do, Tommy, because having you in my life is one of the most important things in the world to me," she blurted out, catching us both off guard a little bit "Wow, sorry. I didn't even know what I was doing. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's okay, Kim. I'm not mad. Actually, I'm actually really glad you did it," I replied, stroking her hands gently "It was hard for me to control it all at first, too. But the good thing is that you have me to help you learn to control and harness your abilities. It's going to take time but eventually you're abilities will become like a light switch where you can just turn them on or off whenever you want."

"Tell me you love me, Tommy," Kim demanded as she got a serious look on her face.

"I love you, Kim," I answered "I always have and I always will."

"Good," she replied simply, taking my hand and pulling me from the couch "Let's go see Zordon. I think there are some things he knows that we should know too."

I nodded my head in silent agreement as I slipped my arm around her waist and we walked out of the flat together. Just when I thought that she was going to walk away from me again, she showed me why I loved her so much and why I never stopped loving her. At my darkest and most painful hour, she was there to listen and support me.

As we walked towards the main room of the Command Center, I thanked whoever was up there watching over me that I had such an amazing person in my life. If Kim hadn't been so understanding and compassionate, I don't know what I would have done but she had embraced who I really was and that was all that mattered.

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_Okay guys, I know this was a little bit of a weird chapter and I'm sure you guys probably are confused as hell. All I can say is that everything will be explained fully in the next couple chapters and it will all make more sense here fairly soon. The next chapter is almost done and I'm going to do something a little bit differently for it. I'm going to give you a quick sneak peak at the next chapter and I want you guys to either PM me or leave me a review giving me the answer to the question I'm going to ask you here shortly. So without further ado, here's the sneak peak…_

"Ay-yi-yi, Zordon," Alpha 5 whined loudly "What are we going to do?"

Zordon stared down at all of us as the realization of what had just happened began to slowly set in. How it had happened, none of us were sure but something had to be done and it had to be done quickly.

"IT IS TIME TO SUMMON THE HELP WE DISCUSSED IN CASE THIS HAPPENED, ALPHA," Zordon replied sternly "EXECUTE PLAN B AND TELEPORT THEM HERE IMMEDIATELY."

_Okay, so what I want you to do is guess who Zordon is talking about. It's not as obvious as you think either. Something bad happened to the Rangers and they need extra help. Think outside the box. In all three of my stories I've only ever used fourteen Rangers as main characters and I've stuck strickly to MMPR/Zeo/Turbo/DT. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. There are four correct answers in all and the person who gets the most right will get a two-page preview to the next chapter._


	17. Once A Ranger, Always A Ranger

Kim and I literally spent all of the next two hours in the Command Center with Zordon, discussing everything that I felt I needed to know about myself and my past and also some things I probably could have gone without knowing. Obviously, the first thing on my agenda was to apologize for the way I had behaved when he told me everything the first time. I was so apologetic and he accepted my apology graciously and with great understanding.

I found out that everything in my life, every event and every moment had been predicted up until my eighteenth birthday. Zordon had known the Oliver's were going to adopt me, he knew I was going to become the evil Green Ranger and then the White Ranger and that Kim was going to break up with me. He literally knew every single detail of my life before it happened until the day I turned eighteen. A few days after I turned eighteen was when I had been removed from my position as Red Ranger on the Turbo team

Zordon had done that intentionally. He said that since he knew everything about my life before I became an adult that he was comfortable leaving me in my position as a Ranger but after that, he just couldn't risk me going out there and getting hurt in battle.

I understood where he was coming from in wanting to keep me safe but, even if my life had been predicted, I think I still did a good enough job to convince him that I was capable as a Ranger and as a leader. I almost snapped at that point but a firm hand on my shoulder from Kim kept me under control.

He told me that my work on the Red Ranger mission and the Dino Thunder team had frightened him initially but that I showed him I was capable and that I never should have been removed from the team in the first place. At that point, Zordon had shown me the ultimate respect in admitting I was a damn good Ranger and I just couldn't bring myself to stay mad at that point.

Then it was time for Zordon to explain to me just how everything had happened with me during my conception and the months following my birth. I felt like Anakin Skywalker when he told me that I had been conceived with no physical intimacy, just his influence over the woman who carried me. He was that good and strong of a being that he could just do that to someone.

Unfortunately, he knew the woman was going to die after giving birth to me but, in Zordon's eyes, it was for the greater good. I really had lived an Anakin Skywalker type existence if you think about it. I was born to a woman who had no idea where I came from or how I got there, I came to Angel Grove as a good kid with good intentions, got turned to the Dark Side but then ended up redeeming myself for the greater good. I had been Darth Vader and didn't even realize it.

Everything was a blur at that point and my emotions were all going haywire. On one hand, I finally had some of the information I had always wanted but on the other hand there was the fact that everything I thought I knew about my life had been a facade.

Luckily, I had Kim by my side or I would have been a nervous wreck for sure. I was flying at 20,000 feet with no Zord but she was still there to try and keep me grounded.

My next step was to find out just how Kim and I could actually procreate. I had thought that it wasn't through physical intimacy because I had been born without any and that's what I had told Kim but I was wrong. Kim and I had been intimate for months and I had gone the whole time thinking nothing could have happened.

I didn't understand at first why Kim hadn't been concerned even the first time we slept together without any sort of protection. I felt like an idiot for not thinking about it when Kim told me that she was on the pill. I should have known Kim was smarter than that and she must have just thought that I was either careless or dumb for not saying anything.

But was human birth control enough to stop a partial Eltarian from conceiving? Zordon wasn't sure because he had obviously never used it with his wife and he hadn't associated with anyone that used birth control besides humans. He did take an educated guess though and said that it obviously took two capable partners to have a child and if the birth control was making Kim's system incapable then it didn't matter what my biological makeup was. As long as Kim maintained the birth control there was most likely no risk of her getting pregnant.

Zordon explained that there were only two reasons why I was conceived in the manner that I had been. One was the obvious fact that Zordon didn't exactly have a body to use. The second was that his heritage dictated his spot as an Eltarian God upon death which gave him the ability to manipulate certain things thus allowing him to create me.

At first I didn't like the idea that I hadn't been born like a normal person but the more I thought about it the more it appealed to me. I had been created from a greater good, from a being more powerful than most people had ever seen not just two people who had slept together. I wasn't totally human, hell I was better than human.

The more Zordon explained to me though, the more questions I had racing through my head. Zordon had been alive for over 10,000 years. Did that mean I was going to live some ungodly length of time because I was part Eltarian?

When I had promised Kim forever, I didn't realize just how long forever was going to really be. Everyone had always told me I looked young for my age and Zordon told me that was because my partial Eltarian makeup slowed the aging process down and that, as I got older on Earth the aging process would actually slow down even more. I was going to be over 2,000 years old before I even looked a day over thirty.

Then the realization set in that I was probably going to live a whole lot longer than Kim and I didn't like the idea of that at all. I wasn't sure if I could actually live thousands and thousands of years and only spend maybe sixty or seventy with her. You have no idea the rush of excitement and happiness I felt when Zordon told me that that wasn't the case and that it wouldn't happen like that.

I had consummated my love with a total human which, on Eltar, equated to the biggest self-sacrifice that any Eltarian, even partial Eltarian, could make. Eltarians are such pure and good people that when anyone of Eltarian lineage loves someone outside of Eltarian blood and expresses that love through physical intimacy you're basically transferring part of your essence and life force into your partner. When I had made love to Kim for the first time I had drastically reduced my own life span but increased hers to the point where our lives and deaths would be on scale to a human's life cycle.

Basically what that boils down to is that I was meant to live roughly twelve to fifteen-thousand years and Kim was meant to live anywhere between say seventy-five and a hundred years if you go big. By being intimate with Kim we had put ourselves on a more similar timeline so we were both going to live roughly the same amount of time. We had put ourselves on such a similar timeline, in fact, that the odds said when one died the other would only be a few hundred years behind them and that it would be somewhere in the 6,500 to 7,000 range. I think after spending that much time together, one of us was going to be ready for a couple hundred year break.

Another amazing breath of fresh air was that, since Eltarians didn't age like humans they didn't go through the same problems humans went through as they got older. I was never going to have to worry about Alzheimer's or Parkinson's or cancer. I didn't even have to worry about arthritis and neither did Kim. We'd look older from a physical standpoint but no terminal illness, disease or affliction was going to touch us.

It all made so much sense now. I couldn't even remember a time when I had been sick or injured for any significant length of time. All my battle scars had healed relatively quickly and I had just attributed it to my powers when it was actually the Eltarian inside of me.

Suddenly, I remembered that Zordon's heritage made him an Eltarian God when he died which I asked him about next. According to Zordon, I was his only male heir which meant that when I died I would become an Eltarian god too just not one with as high a rank because I wasn't a full-blooded Eltarian.

If I died before Kim she would take my side in the pantheon of Eltarian gods but not as a god herself, just the wife of a god, when she eventually passed on. She'd have only a fraction of whatever abilities I received when I was deified but we were actually only going to spend all but a few hundred years of our lives on Earth and in the afterlife apart from each other. If she went before I did though, she'd be treated well but would have to wait until I died to take her place by my side with the other Eltarian gods.

I was thoroughly excited about the news but I wasn't exactly sure how Kim felt about it. It had been something neither of us knew about when we had made love all those times. Was she going to be okay with the fact that because we slept together that she was going to live thousands upon thousands of years?

I wanted to try and reach out to read her mind but I had promised myself I was going to respect her privacy unless I thought it was a life or death situation. The look on her face and the tears in her eyes when she whispered the word "forever" would have been enough but she really drove the message home when she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly, refusing to let go for almost five minutes.

She was just as happy as I was that we were going to live that long together. Neither of us were overly religious but Zordon's confirmation of an afterlife made us both realize that there really was some higher power at work. It didn't matter if it was the Christian God or the Jewish God or Mohammed or Buddha or Zordon himself. All that mattered was that there was something out there that knew how much we meant to, and loved, each other and that it cared enough not to break us apart for longer than a couple hundred years.

Like I said before, Zordon knew every minute detail of my life up until I turned eighteen which included Kim breaking up with me. On the day I turned eighteen the highest ranking Eltarian gods granted him one last look at my future. He could pick any one event in my life that was going to happen and he had chosen to pick my wedding day. In the true fashion of a loving and caring father, he had chosen to pick the day that he knew was supposed to be one of the happiest day of my life. He knew ten years ago that, even after so many years apart, Kim and I were going to find each other again and get married. How amazing is that?

Then there was the topic of children and heirs. Zordon explained that my first male child would be accepted into the pantheon of Eltarian gods upon death and that, when the others passed away, they would be treated as royalty, just not gods.

"But what about Nathan, Zordon?" I asked "When Kim and I get married I'm planning on adopting him as my son. Could I name him my heir?"

"UNFORTUNATELY TOMMY, YOU CAN NOT. TO BE AN ELTARIAN GOD YOU MUST BE THE BIOLOGICAL OFFSPRING OF ANOTHER ELTARIAN," he explained "HOWEVER, THE LEGAL NATURE OF AN INTERPLANATARY ADOPTION IS RECOGNIZED ON ELTAR AND HE WILL BE GRANTED THE SAME TREATMENT AS ANY OF YOUR OTHER CHILDREN OTHER THAN YOUR FIRST MALE HEIR. HE WILL, OF COURSE, LIVE A HUMAN LIFE BUT HE WILL BE TREATED AS ANY DESCENDENT OF AN ELTARIAN GOD SHOULD BE TREATED IN THE AFTERLIFE."

"So what you're saying is that Nathan will be subjected to the same afflictions and life cycle of a human but that he'll still be treated as a descendant of Tommy's in the afterlife?" Kim asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"THAT IS CORRECT, KIMBERLY," Zordon answered "IF TOMMY HAD BEEN KAOEN NEITHER YOU NOR NATHAN WOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED IN THE KO SYSTEM BUT ELTARIANS ARE NOT A PREJUDICED PEOPLE. WE BELIEVE IN HARMONY OF ALL SPECIES WHICH IS WHY NATHAN WILL BE PROPERLY TAKEN CARE OF IN THE AFTERLIFE."

"That's good to know, I guess," Kim replied as she rubbed her forehead "I think I need to lie down. This has all been a lot to handle and comprehend and I just really want to rest right now."

I had learned everything I needed to learn to be content with my past, present and future and I had just agreed to take Kim back to our room when the alarm started blaring. Kim looked at me, rolled her eyes and stomped her foot angrily as we retreated and waited for the others to arrive. Alpha 5 showed up so almost immediately as did Trini, Billy and Zack and I was pretty sure Jason had been getting Nathan situated with Alpha 6 when he arrived a few minutes later.

"What's going on this time, Zordon?" I asked angrily and sarcastically "Goldar and Tengas again? Or did he send Oozemen this time?"

"I'M AFRAID IT IS NEITHER. IVAN HAS CREATED A MONSTER CALLED MEGADRAIN AND IT HAS THE ABILITY TO STEAL YOUR ENERGY, LEAVING YOU POWERLESS," Zordon answered "YOU MUST BE CAREFUL, RANGERS. IF MEGADRAIN MANAGES TO STEAL YOUR POWERS IT COULD BE QUITE AWHILE BEFORE WE CAN RESTORE THEM. HE IS A FIERCE MONSTER, UNLIKE ANY YOU HAVE EVER FACED BEFORE AND SHOULD BE APPROACHED WITH EXTREME CAUTION. GO NOW RANGERS, AND MAY THE POWER PROTECT YOU."

I looked at everyone, making sure they were mentally and physically ready for the challenge ahead. Zordon wouldn't have warned us like that if it wasn't a serious threat and I wanted to make sure everyone was prepared for what could happen. A few seconds later, I was convinced everyone was ready and I gave them all quick nods as I put my hand behind my back.

"It's Morphin' Time!" I yelled.

"Mastodon!" Zack called out.

"Pterodactyl!" Kim added loudly.

"Triceratops!" Billy continued.

"Sabertooth Tiger!" Trini followed.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason yelled.

"White Ranger Power!" I finished.

As we teleported out of the Command Center I tried to form some kind of strategy in my head for the upcoming battle. Little did I know that no amount of planning or strategy was going to prepare us for what happened next.

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The six of us sat in the Command Center in an absolutely dejected silence. Four of my teammates had just had their powers drained from them. Luckily, Kim and I had been able to get everyone out of there before Megadrain got our powers as well. Even though Kim and I had our power still, Jason, Trini, Zack and Billy didn't which meant we were still four Rangers short of a full team.

Billy and Alpha 5 had been frantically working on a way to regain their lost powers but they hadn't been able to come up with any conclusions. It took them a while but twenty minutes later or so Billy came back with an explanation.

"It appears that the monster only has our powers as long as he is alive," he said to us "If he is destroyed, our powers should immediately return to us."

"So we destroy the bad guy, you guys get your powers back?" I asked him as he nodded his head "Well, we've taken out monsters with just two Rangers before. Kim and I did it with Guitardo. I guess we'll all just have to hope we can do it again."

"UNFORTUNATELY, TOMMY, THE DESTRUCTION OF MEGADRAIN WILL TAKE MORE THAN JUST THE STRENGTH OF KIMBERLY AND YOURSELF," Zordon explained "WITHOUT THE COMBINED POWER OF A FULL TEAM, NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO RETRIEVE THE STOLEN POWERS"

"Ay-yi-yi, Zordon," Alpha 5 whined loudly "What are we going to do?"

Zordon stared down at all of us as the realization of what had just happened began to slowly set in. How it had happened, none of us were sure but something had to be done and it had to be done quickly.

"IT IS TIME TO SUMMON THE HELP WE DISCUSSED IN CASE THIS HAPPENED, ALPHA," Zordon replied sternly "EXECUTE PLAN B AND TELEPORT THEM HERE IMMEDIATELY."

I looked around at the others as they all eyed one another apprehensively. Luckily Zordon, in his infinite wisdom, had covered all his bases and it sounded like it wouldn't be too long before we had a temporary, but full team again.

It took a few minutes but eventually four beams of light touched down in the shadows of the Command Center. One by one, each Ranger walked out into the open as we realized who the temporary replacements were going to be. No one on the team but me knew any of them except Jason who had only met one of the old/new Rangers and even then, most of them I had only met briefly except for one.

The first one to step out of the shadows was a person I had only actually talked to a few times. To the others, he was just a young Latino man in black but I knew him as Carlos Vallerte, second Green Turbo Ranger and Black Space Ranger.

"Zack, I think he's here for your spot," I said as I motioned towards the two "Zack, this is Carlos Vallerte, second Green Turbo and Black Space Ranger. Carlos this is Zack Taylor, the first Black Ranger Earth had in almost a hundred years."

The two shook hands and said hello as Carlos took a step back to stand next to Zack as the next person stepped forward. This was the one Ranger I hadn't met yet but I had definitely heard about her through reputation. When Carter Grayson had told me about his team on the flight to the moon, he specifically mentioned two people; Joel Rawlings and Kelsey Winslow and this obviously wasn't Joel.

"Kelsey Winslow, I presume?" I asked as she nodded her head and I gestured towards Trini "Trini this is Kelsey Winslow, Yellow Lightspeed Ranger. Kelsey, this is Trini Kwan, the first Yellow Morphin' Ranger."

The pair went through the same processions as Zack and Carlos, shaking hands and saying hello before falling back for the next person. Jason and I both knew this kid and the smile on Jason's face told the whole story. If nothing else, the kid had freakin' earned it.

"Jason, I think you already know who this one is," I said with a smile "For those of you who don't know him, this is Cole Evans, Red Wild Force Ranger. He holds a very special place in Jason's heart."

"How you doing, rookie?" Jason asked with a grin, slapping him lightly on the shoulder and then surprising Cole by extending his hand which he took eagerly before lowering his voice "You proved yourself big time on the moon, kid. Don't make me regret shaking your hand. Do me proud, okay?"

Cole nodded his head quickly as they took a step back for the last Ranger to show up. I literally threw my arms in the air and jumped as high as I could when I saw who was taking Billy's place. I looked up at Zordon who gave me a knowing smile as I pulled the young man into a friendly hug which was surprisingly less awkward then I had anticipated.

"Ethan, man it's good to see you but what about school" I asked in a whisper "Weren't you going to Turtle Cove University?"

"Yeah and I still am, Dr. O," he answered "But I couldn't miss this one for the world. When Zordon contacted me and told me he might need my help sometime in the future and that you were a Ranger again, I couldn't say no. Man, it's good to be back."

He flicked his wrist and revealed his Dino Morpher, holding it up with a smile as I grinned back at him. I decided to give the two Blue Rangers a more personal introduction since they were both close to me so I called Billy over to meet Ethan.

"Billy, this is Ethan James my Blue Dino Thunder Ranger. Ethan, this is Billy Cranston the first Blue Morphin' Ranger," I explained as they shook hands "I wish you guys could have met under different circumstances, though. I think you'll hit it off when this is all over with. Ethan was our resident genius."

Ethan beamed proudly as Billy gave him a wink and a knowing head nod before putting his arm around him and leading him towards the where the other Rangers were standing. Aside from Kelsey who I didn't know, I was pretty happy with the people Zordon had chosen. I would have liked it to have been Conner, Kira and Trent with Ethan but I knew better than to question Zordon. Besides, Kelsey had a good reputation, Carlos was a good guy and would fight hard and Cole had become one of the greatest Red Rangers of all-time in the eyes of Jason and myself after what he did during the moon mission.

If nothing else, I was at least comfortable in fighting with most of my new teammates. Ethan and I knew each other's tendencies well which could play to our advantage if he connected with Kim on the battlefield who knew me almost as well as I knew myself. Cole and I had only fought once together but, aside from Conner, there was no other Red Ranger I would have picked to replace Jason. Not even TJ or Rocky.

I didn't really know much about the other two except for what TJ and Adam told me about Carlos which was that he was tough but had the tendency to get down on himself if he messed up. Even I did that from time to time so I wasn't really worried about it. As far as Kelsey, all I really knew about her was that she was a professional mountain climber and that Carter said she would fight until she collapsed. That last part was all I needed to know to believe that she'd be okay as a temporary replacement on the team.

For the next few hours the Rangers of new and old spent the time getting to know their counterparts a little better. Jason and Cole had spent the whole time laughing and joking while Zack and Carlos discussed the similarities and differences between hip-hop and salsa dancing. Trini and Kelsey were doing the same thing with martial arts and rock climbing and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when I heard Billy and Ethan whispering about how hard it was to be the smartest person on their respective team.

_Billy and Ethan really seem to be hitting it off well, _Kim said telepathically as I looked over at her. She was standing on the opposite side of the room near Cole and Jason with a huge grin on her face.

_Yeah, they're the most similar. Jason and Cole are polar opposites though and they get along great, _I replied and then asked _How do you feel about the replacements?_

At that point I think we were both glad for the ability to communicate telepathically. We could say whatever we wanted without the others knowing and potentially hurting feelings.

_I don't know. Ethan's obviously good to go in my book because he was one of your Rangers. Cole seems okay too. I get the impression he's a sweet kid but that he can really turn it up if you piss him off._

_Yep, that's Cole alright. What about Carlos and Kelsey? How do you feel about them? I get the feeling you're the most worried about those two._

_I am. Probably because I know nothing about them. Jason mentioned Cole as the deciding factor in the moon mission and you've told me about Ethan before. I'm sure that Carlos and Kelsey will be fine but I just don't know if I'm comfortable trusting them in a battle._

_I know how you feel. One thing I can say about Carlos though is that he was Adam's successor on the Turbo team and if he's good in Adam's book he's good in mine._

_I didn't even think about that. I guess you're right, though. I didn't doubt Adam when Zack selected him as his replacement so I guess I shouldn't doubt Adam's selection either. What do you think about Kelsey? She's a cute girl. I don't need to keep my eye on you, do I?_

_Absolutely not. I don't care how good looking she is because she'll never be anywhere near as gorgeous as you are. As for on the battle field, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I've never teamed with her before or seen her in action so I'm just going off reputation. But if what Carter, her team's Red Ranger, said about her is legit, then we shouldn't have to worry._

Whether or not worrying was an option soon became irrelevant. The Command Center alarm started sounding off again and Zordon immediately directed our attention to the Viewing Globe. It was one of the most horrific sights I had ever seen in all my years as a Ranger.

Megadrain was attacking near the park now but he was actually using his abilities on innocent civilians. One by one he would suck their energy out of them as they dropped to the ground.

"Is he killing all those people, Zordon?" Kim asked hesitantly.

"NO BUT HE IS LEAVING THEM VERY NEAR DEATH. HUMAN ENERGY IS WEAK IN COMPARISON TO YOUR POWERS HE CONSUMED," Zordon explained "IF HE IS NOT STOPPED SHORTLY, THEIR ENERGY WILL DISAPPEAR, KILLING THEM ALL."

"Guys, we can't let that happen," Cole said firmly "We have to stop him now before innocents are hurt."

"Cole's right," Carlos added "Let's take this guy out."

I looked at the two veteran Rangers and gave them confident head nods. I knew for sure I didn't have to worry about Ethan and this was the physical conformation that said Cole and Carlos would be okay.

"I'm ready when you guys are," Kelsey said confidently and I knew we were as ready as we'd ever be.

"Alright guys, let's make this short and sweet," I said sternly "Megadrain shoots orbs out of its' mouth and if one hits you it will immediately take your powers away. If you see one coming, I think it's obvious what you need to do. Billy, did you or Alpha manage to detect a weak spot on him when you ran your tests?"

"Yes, Tommy, and I have the results right here," Alpha 5 chimed in "Megadrain has a small opening below its' lower back but it is extremely tiny. It would most likely take one of Kimberly's arrows to destroy it."

"You got that, Kim?" I asked as she nodded her head "Alright then guys, Alpha's going to teleport us there now. We'll Morph when we get there. There's probably going to be Oozemen or Tengas so you guys take care of them while Kim and I go after Megadrain. We'll call for you if we need help."

They all nodded their heads in understanding as Jason, Zack, Billy and Trini wished their counterparts good luck. Alpha pushed a few buttons and a couple seconds later we were gone in a blinding flash of light.

When we arrived at the park, there was a huge pile of almost lifeless bodies. Kim nearly threw up at the sight of it and I had to turn her in the other direction to prevent the sickness.

"Oh Rangers, brought some new friends for Round Two, I see!" Megadrain taunted at us "Don't worry Rangers, there won't be a Round Three for you."

"You got that right!" Cole shouted back "We're gonna put you down for the count, Megadrain."

It was definitely corny but it worked. Cole was confident and that's all I cared about. Confidence was the most important thing for any Ranger to have and Cole had enough for all of us.

"Alright guys, it's that time," I muttered, looking at the others as they nodded "You do your things and then we'll do ours."

"Sure thing. Lightspeed, Rescue!" Kelsey called out as she rotated her arms around and summoned her powers "Yellow Lightspeed Ranger!"

Having served the longest out of any other Ranger, I found it extremely funny that every new team of Rangers seemed to have a longer, intricate, more drawn out Morphing call. We had gone from just grabbing our Morphers and yelling a name to steering an invisible wheel to cell phones to God knows what they were doing these days.

"Let's Rocket!" Carlos yelled, snapping me from my thoughts as he pushed the numerical sequence to Morph "Black Space Ranger!"

"Wild Access!" Cole shouted loudly, bringing the cell phone Morpher to his ear "Red Wild Force Ranger!"

Ethan was the last of the temporary Rangers to go and I took pride in watching the Morphing call that I had given them. Sure it was a little more complex then most of mine but it was a lot simpler than some of the crazy stuff I'd seen from some of the other Rangers.

"Blue Ranger, Dino Power! Ha!" Ethan yelled, bringing the Morpher behind his ear and pressing the red button "Blue Dino Thunder Ranger!"

He had kept the motions the same but he had changed the call a little bit. He had personalized it a little more like Trent's had been and when I looked over at him he just shrugged his shoulders.

"It sounded cool," he said as I smiled back and nodded my head.

"It's our turn, Beautiful," I muttered "You do it."

"Whatever you say, Handsome," she replied as we put our hands behind our backs "It's Morphin' Time!"

"Pterodactyl!" she called out as her suit appeared and her helmet clicked on over her head.

"White Ranger Power!" I followed as I felt the power rush over me and my outfit change "Okay, let's do it guys, divide and conquer. Go now!"

Cole, Carlos, Kelsey and Ethan immediately took off after the combination of Tengas and Oozemen that Megadrain had brought with him to the park. Kim gave my hand a tight squeeze as Megadrain slowly started to approach us.

He immediately shot a clear orb towards us and I pushed Kim out of the way as I barely managed to duck underneath it. I took off in a sprint towards Megadrain as I launched into a flying kick that sent him flying through the air and back a good forty or fifty feet.

"May I have this dance?" I asked Kim as I extended my hand to help her up from the grass.

"Absolutely," she answered, taking my hand and allowing me to pull her onto her feet "Thanks for the dance, slick."

"Anytime," I shot back as Megadrain started towards us again and I looked at Kim "We're going to have to take care of this now. I'll distract him and get you enough time for one shot but you're going to have to make it count, okay?"

"Don't worry about that one," she answered "I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was."

"Wow, that sounded like something out of a bad country song," I muttered back, withdrawing Saba as he let our a muffled groan and I charged towards Megadrain.

"You could at least act like you cared," Saba snapped "I have feelings to you know?"

"Sorry old friend, but right now definitely isn't the time for small talk," I replied as I cocked my arm back "We have more important things to attend to, buddy."

I sliced right at Megadrain's head causing sparks to stumble around carelessly as sparks erupted from his neck. The blow was intended to demobilize him though not send him stumbling around like some kind of wino. Silently, I cursed myself for not getting Kim the opening I had said I would.

"You'll have to do better than that, Power Punk!" he spat, connecting with a punch that sent me staggering back a few feet.

_TOMMY, DUCK! _Kim said telepathically and I made the movement just in time to avoid one of his orbs. The ability to communicate telepathically was coming in handier and handier with every passing moment.

"Saba, I think I've had enough of this clown. Keep him busy for awhile," I said to my sword as I pointed it at Megadrain and threw it towards the monster.

Right as Saba reached the point where Megadrain realized it was going to connect, he changed courses and started spinning a tight circle around the monster. I heard a noise and I looked over at Kim who just shrugged her shoulders as I realized it was coming from Saba. That son of a bitch was actually whistling show tunes as he spun around and around, causing Megadrain to quickly get dizzy.

_Kim, this is going to be your chance. I'm going to hold up three fingers and as soon as I put the last one down I'm going to call Saba back. Megadrain will probably stumble around for a good while and then you'll have a small opening where he just stands there groggily before he collapses. Make it count, sweetheart._

She looked over at me and nodded her head as I slowly held up three fingers. Off in the distance I could hear the sound of the others and they all still seemed to be alive which was definitely a good sign. I lowered one finger and took a deep breath before lowering a second. I nodded my head one last time towards Kim as I lowered my pointer finger and extended my hand, yanking Saba back towards me.

Like I had predicted, Megadrain started stumbling around like a drunk as Kim drew her bow and got ready. She had to bounce around quite a bit to keep up with his shaky movements and stay behind him but she was still doing it nonetheless. It took damn near five minutes but he started to gradually slow down before making a complete stop.

By the time Kim was fully positioned and ready to go, he was already teetering backwards. I heard the arrow whiz right by my ear as I turned and watched it connect with Megadrain. Quickly, I fell back to Kim's side as the monster fell flat on its' back, impaling itself on the arrow but preventing us from seeing if it had hit the intended target.

We had only been waiting a few seconds when Cole, Carlos, Kelsey and Ethan came running up to us. I held up one finger, signaling them to remain silent as we waited to see what would happen. I don't know why I did that, it's not like them talking was going to change what happened but it didn't really matter. Thirty seconds later, sparks started flying from his body and his skin slowly started to turn into dust.

The whole process took close to three minutes but when it was all over, Megadrain was nothing more than a pile of dust. We all turned around to celebrate with one another when the sky suddenly turned black. Purple bolts of lightning flew down at us, throwing us backwards and striking the center of the dust pile.

"Zordon," I groaned into my communicator "We're gonna need the Zords. Will they come to the call of the other Rangers?"

"YES, TOMMY," he answered "ALPHA AND BILLY MANAGED TO RECONFIGURE THEM TO ANSWER TO THE CALL OF COLE, CARLOS, KELSEY AND ETHAN. YOU ALL READY KNOW WHICH ZORDS THEY WILL COMMAND. YOU NO LONGER HAVE TO FOCUS SOLELY ON HIS WEAK SPOT EITHER. HE IS VULNERABLE TO ALL BLOWS NOW. BE SAFE, MY SON."

"I will. Tommy out," I replied "Alright guys, here's how it's gonna work and I know you all know the drill. In about forty-five seconds that pile of dust is going to turn into a sixty foot tall Megadrain. Cole, Jason's Tyrannosaurus is yours. I know it's not the Eagle but it will have to do. Kelsey, I don't know what kind of Zord you had but you have the Sabertooth Tiger today. Ethan, you have the Triceratops still but it's a lot slower than your Zord. Carlos, you're going to have Zack's Mastodon Zord."

"Hey man, as long as it's not a green mini-van, I'm cool with anything," Carlo said jokingly.

"Alright then, we need Dinozord Power!" I called out thrusting my hand towards the sky as the Zords slowly appeared "And I need Falconzord Power, now!"

I watched intently as the Falconzord flew majestically through the sky towards me. Even though I couldn't see it, I looked over at Kim and I knew she was smiling under her helmet as we jumped into our Zords.

"Kelsey, here. Ready to go," she called out to us.

"Carlos, here. I'm on," he continued.

"Cole, here. Let's see what this baby can do," he added.

"Ethan online and ready to do it, baby," he said with a laugh.

"You know Kim's ready for action," she followed with a laugh of her own.

"Okay then. It's time to show this guy what Ranger Power is all about," I commanded "We need Mega-Falconzord Power, now!"

The Megazord started to come together like normal, the five Dinozords all going to their regular spots as it entered it's sitting position. I came flying in in the Falconzord as soon as the Megazord started getting on it's feet. When it was finally standing, the Falconzord folded its' wings as the arms on the Megazord separated, allowing the Falconzord to fly in before the arms reconnected.

It was basically the same Megazord except it now had the ability to use the missiles attached to the wings of the Falconzord. Even though it wasn't that different, I guarantee you it looked badass to anyone who happened to be watching the battle.

As soon as the new Megazord was fully formed, I grabbed the main controls, moving it towards Megadrain who was standing and waiting. Being in the Megazord reminded me of why I liked my Tigerzord so much. I didn't have to use controls or push buttons, it just made the movements I made but I had to make due with what I was given.

Our first move was a punch to the side of Megadrain's head that sent him reeling before he crashed into the side of the building. I hoped the Ranger Fund was still in place because they were going to need it after all these fights.

I don't think any of you know this but after Rita started attacking consistently and the Rangers damaged more and more property in battles, the city actually established a tax that could be written off at the end of the year but gave the city the necessary income it needed to remodel and replace the things we damaged or destroyed. But back to the battle…

Megadrain came back quickly, slashing at the Megazord with its razor sharp claws. Bright sparks flew from the chest plate of the Megazord as the blow forced it to take a step back. Throughout our two battles on the ground with the monster, I had studied its' movements and tendencies to the point where I was pretty sure I could predict when he was going to shoot another orb at us.

His left arm would twitch ever so slightly and then he would blink three times followed by a loud snort before going for one of his orbs. I stared at him intently, watching his movements and preparing to call for the Mammoth Shield. A few seconds later, I noticed his arm twitch and I told Carlos to get ready. After the second blink, Carlos had his hand on the red button next to him and was ready to push it. He blinked one final time, letting out a loud snort as I looked over at Carlos yelling for him to do it but his hand was already flying towards the button when the words came out of my mouth.

The bright orb came hurtling towards us just as the Megazord's arm brought the shield up to deflect the attack. We here hoping just to send the orb in a different direction but it hit the shield at an absolutely perfect angle and sent the orb flying directly back at Megadrain.

We all got out of our seats to get a better view as the orb connected with Megadrain, sending him flying through the air. He started to shoot sparks and turn to dust again but this time it happened a lot quicker than before. I refused to turn my attention away from the massive pile of dust until it disappeared for good which happened a few seconds later when a huge gust of wind came through, almost knocking the Megazord over and sending the dust in every direction imaginable.

Inside the cockpit of the Megazord we celebrated, exchanging handshakes and hugs at our victory over Megadrain and Ivan Ooze. We sent the Zords back to their waiting places a few minutes later and arrived back at the park to find all of Megadrain's victims recovering, albeit slowly. With Megadrain gone and the citizens of Angel Grove on the road to recovery, all that was left was to return to the Command Center and make sure the destruction of Megadrain had indeed resulted in the return of the stolen Powers.

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"You all have done a great service, today," I said proudly, looking at each of the four replacement Rangers individually "You have not only done your fellow Rangers proud, but you have done Angel Grove and the world proud. I feel honored to have teamed with such a great group of Rangers and you all should be very proud of yourselves."

_Wow, that was a little deep don't you think? _Kim asked and I could hear the snicker of sarcasm even though she hadn't said the words out loud.

_Actually, I thought that was pretty good. I told them I was proud of them without overdoing it and without making them feel unappreciated at the same time._

_I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. You did fine, Tommy._

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that the honor was all ours," Cole interjected before I could reply to Kimberly "I've had the opportunity twice now to team with you Tommy and I understand now why you really are the greatest Ranger ever. Kimberly, teaming with any original is definitely an honor for any Ranger you helped pave the way for and I'm proud to have served with both of you. It's like the old saying goes; Once a Ranger…"

"Always a Ranger," Carlos, Kelsey and Ethan finished in unison with smiles all around.

_Jeez, you wanna talk about overdoing it_ I said to Kim as she put her hand over her mouth to stop the oncoming laugh.

As soon as Cole said that it brought me back to probably one of the funniest yet equally cheesy moments in all my time as a Ranger. It was during the moon mission and we were running through some warehouse type building to try and catch up to General Venjix and his lackeys. We had just caught up to them when Jason delivered one of, if not, the best lines I had ever heard.

"You know, if you miss King Mondo that much, I promise we can help you join them," he had said with such a confident tone and it really did make him seem that much cooler for it.

"We're not gonna let you bring back Serpentera!" Cole had, unfortunately, added right after thus killing any mental advantage Jason might have gotten us.

We gave him crap the whole flight back for that line and by the time we got back to Earth his cheeks were so red it wasn't even funny. He was definitely a fireball and had a ton of spunk but he did have the tendency to speak before actually thinking about what was going to come out of his mouth. But that wasn't really important now. What was important was that we had successfully stopped Ivan and Megadrain thus restoring the life forces of the attacked civilians as well as the powers of Jason, Zack, Billy and Trini.

They had truly done us all a great service that day and I was legitimately proud to have teamed with all of them, especially Ethan. Seeing that my advice and mentoring had really paid off was the best thing about being a Ranger. I had passed on what I learned to six Rangers before Ethan, Conner, Kira and Ethan got it but every time I saw that it paid off, it put a smile on my face.

Since Ethan was one of _my_ Rangers I think he held a special place inside of me that only he and his teammates could occupy. We said our goodbyes to Kelsey who was teleported out first, then Carlos who was soon followed by Cole. When Ethan was the only one left, I pulled him off to the side and away from everyone else.

"I'm proud of you, Ethan. You didn't have to come back today and no one would have blamed you if you had stayed in Turtle Cove," I muttered, extending my hand towards him "But you did a great thing today and I want you to know how much I appreciate it. How much we all appreciate it."

"Hey it really wasn't a problem, Dr. O. Like I said before, I wouldn't have missed this for the world," he replied, taking my hand and shaking it tightly "I know you'd do the same thing for me. Hey, so I meant to ask you something. Kira's got a gig at some place called the Youth Center or something like that in a couple of weeks. She said it was around here and she asked me to tell you about it and to find out if you could possibly go. I know it'd mean a lot to her if you showed, especially if you brought the other Rangers."

"You can tell Kira that, Ranger duty not withstanding, I wouldn't miss it for the world," I answered with a smile as I clasped Ethan tightly on the shoulder "What about Conner, you and Trent? Are you guys going to go?"

"I probably will as long as something crazy with school doesn't come up. Conner's at Reefside Community with Kira and they're, like, dating now I guess so I'm pretty sure he'll be there too. I still don't know how those two got together," he replied as we both let out small chuckles "Trent's at some art school in New York though and I don't think a small gig like this is going to get him to fly 6,000 miles across country. I talked to him a few weeks ago though and he's doing good. He asked me to say hi for him next time I saw you."

"Yeah, it's gotta be tough on him being so far away from everything and everyone. Do you still have my cell number?" I asked as Ethan nodded his head "Good. Give me a call a couple days before the show, maybe we can all get together for coffee or something when Kira's done playing. It'd give you all a chance to get to know the old guys a little bit better."

"Definitely," he answered excitedly with a bright smile "But, if it's all the same to you, I have a 5,000 word essay on the Byzantine Empire due in three days and I haven't even started it yet. Not to mention the fact that I'm a Computer Science major and they're making me take history classes which I hate."

"Alright then, get our of here man," I replied, extending my hand as he shook it tightly "It was good seeing you. Take care of yourself, Ethan. I'm sure will be seeing each other again sooner rather than later."

"You can count on it. I'll see you around, Dr. O. Thanks again for everything," he said with a smile as he waved goodbye and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

"They did it," Jason muttered as he walked up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder "They actually freaking did it."

"Yep, they sure did," I replied, turning around and shaking Jason's hand "You're welcome, by the way. For getting you your powers back and everything."

"Hey man, I was gonna say thanks at some point," he said with a laugh, throwing his hands up in mock defense "But if that's how you wanna play the game, maybe I'll just call Cole and see if we is interested in just taking my place on the team permanently."

"Uh-uh, no way," Kim interjected as she jumped in between us with a huge smile "He's nice and all but I couldn't deal with that everyday. I'm supposed to be the perky one and he makes me look like I'm depressed or something."

The three of us laughed together as we all realized that Cole was okay in small doses but any more of him than that was definitely too much to handle, at least for us anyway. Zack, Trini and Billy joined us a few minutes later as Zordon looked down on us proudly.

"TOMMY AND KIMBERLY, CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS ARE DUE TO THE BOTH OF YOU," his voice boomed "WITHOUT YOU'RE IMPECCABLE TEAMWORK TODAY, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE. YOU BOTH DID AMAZINGLY WELL TODAY AND I AM PROUD OF YOU BOTH."

"He's right," Trini added "You guys really did do great today. We owe you big time."

"Affirmative," Billy followed "You both did a fantastic job."

"Thanks," Kim blushed as I slipped my arm around her waist and she laid her head on my shoulder "It wasn't that big of a deal though, guys. I know that all of you would have done the same for us in a heartbeat."

"You're damn right we would have," Zack interjected as the others nodded their heads in agreement.

Alpha 6 came down with Nathan a few minutes later and we eventually made our way to the mess hall to celebrate our victory Jason and Zack took Nathan into the far corner to show him some karate moves and "Pip-Hop Eedo" as Nathan had so lovingly referred to Zack's own style of martial arts, Hip-Hop aikido. Trini and Billy were sitting at one of the dining tables, talking about some upgrades Billy thought they could make to the Zords, leaving Kim and I alone to cook dinner for everyone.

After digging through three huge refrigerators and two massive pantry cabinest, we were finally able to dig up all the ingredients to make a lasagna, a Caesar salad and some garlic bread. As Kim and I prepared the dishes, I felt her mind pressing against mine.

_It's okay to come in, Beautiful._

_I love you, Tommy. Today has been a tough day but we're still here at the end of it. I think that says something about where we stand._

_I agree with you completely. I just want you to know how much I appreciate you being so understanding about everything. I know it must have been a total shock but you handled it amazingly and I love you so much for it. I couldn't have done all of this today without you by my side.  
_

Instead of continuing the conversation Kim just smiled as she walked over towards me and wrapped her arms around my waist. Tears filled my eyes as she rested her head against my chest and I smelled her hair before kissing her on the top of her head. She reached up slowly and wiped the tears away before kissing me softly on the lips.

I was loving every single moment I got to spend with Kim. She was there for me and she understood me better than anyone else I knew and that includes Jason.

"Thank you, Kim" I muttered and then kissed her again "For everything."

A few minutes later, I put the lasagna in the oven and slipped my arm around Kim's shoulder as we walked out into the mess hall to join the others. We were still standing strong after everything that had happened today and I loved Kim more than ever for how understanding she had been after hearing my story. After that whole ordeal, knowing that we hadn't let anything tear us down, I was confident that the next few thousand years were going to be a piece of cake compared to today.

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_WOW! That was a long one for sure. But there was a whole hell of a lot that happened though. I think this might be the best chapter I've written for any story on this site. I really like the way this turned out and I hope you guys did too. Be sure to let me know what you think about it._

_-WK_


	18. You Gotta Fight, For Your Right

After that day, Ivan's attacks changed drastically. He created monsters far stronger than anything Zedd, Rita or even Mondo had tried to use against us in the past. Having been shown up by our mismatched team of random Rangers, he became more and more focused on making life miserable for all of us.

Between fighting, training and having to consistently repair damaged Zords most of us were on the verge of physical, emotional and mental breakdowns. I knew I was starting to crack and I could tell that Jason and Kim were too.

As much as I thought I wanted this life again, part of me was regretting ever wishing to have all of this back. Physically, I was fine as was Kim but mentally and emotionally were different stories. There were so many things I wanted to do now that I knew the truth about my life. My Eltarian heritage gave myself and my family members the ability to go to any planet in the known universe that we wanted to go to, except the KO System but that didn't bother me. Andros was the only Kaoen I'd ever met that I actually enjoyed being around and liked but that was because he wasn't nearly as self-righteous and bigoted as most other Kaoens.

There were so many worlds out there to visit, so many new different races of alien life to meet and yet we were stuck on Earth engaged in a battle with a guy made out of purple snot. I was still committed, nonetheless. I had made a promise years ago to defend Earth at all costs and I wasn't about to go back on that now, especially not after Kim and Zordon had invested so much faith in me.

That night after the team up with the other Rangers when Kim had put Nathan to bed, the six of us sat in the common room in silence as I tried to think of how best to explain everything to Jason, Zack, Billy and Trini. They were four of my best friends, this should have been easy but it was one of the hardest things I'd ever done in my life.

Jason looked at me like I had more than a few screws loose when I told them I was not only Eltarian but that I was Zordon's son as well. Zack and Trini had been a little apprehensive as well but when I looked at Billy nothing seemed out of the ordinary to him.

"I thought you'd be the most interested in all of this, Billy," I said to him as he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"It was all very interesting when I found out about it eight years ago," he replied as my mouth fell open in shock "Oh come on, after all those tests I had to run on you over the years it wasn't hard to find more than a few things that were weird about your biological makeup. I didn't know you were Eltarian but I definitely knew you weren't totally human. When I finally confirmed my research I had to leave for Aquitar and it was too late to tell anyone."

"So you knew that I was different all those years and never bothered to say anything?" I asked sternly "You didn't think I should know about it?"

"Tommy, it's not that I didn't want you to know it's that there was never a good time to tell you," he answered "This is the first I've really seen of you since the camping trip and before that I only saw you twice a year, tops and we were always drunk. Every time I saw you I tried to get you in a quiet room to talk about it but I promised myself I wouldn't talk about it unless you were in a position to understand what I was telling you."

"Oh," I muttered simply at his explanation "Yeah that's probably a good thing. I found out about it right after we lost the Turbo Powers, anyway. I'm not mad that you knew it's just weird to think that, for all those years, someone else knew besides me."

"So you're really Zordon's son?" Trini asked "You're really an Eltarian?"

I looked at her, smiled and nodded my head. I was actually disappointed to see that Jason still looked like he didn't believe me. It's not like I would lie about something like this. How do you even make up a lie that detailed and thought out?

"Well, technically I'm half-Eltarian since a human woman carried and gave birth to me," I explained as Jason rolled his eyes "Why don't you believe me, man? Here, I'll prove it to you."

I got off the couch and walked over to the wall before putting my fist through it angrily which caused the others to jump back in surprise. My fist was covered in stucco and blood as I marched back over to Jason and held my fist our for him to see. Almost immediately, the blood started to dry and the wounds started to close as Jason looked up at me in shock.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asked softly as I shook my head "I'm sorry, bro. I don't know why I didn't believe you."

"It's cool," I muttered in reply "I knew it'd be tough to understand I just didn't think I'd have to put my fist through a wall to prove it to you."

The others laughed as I sat back on the couch and Kim nestled up against me. I put my arm around her and pulled her in as she rested her head in between my shoulder and neck.

"Tell them the other stuff," she whispered as I looked down at her and she nodded her head slowly.

"As you all know, Zordon's been alive for well over ten thousand years," I said as they all nodded their heads "Well, being Zordon's son and all, I'm going to live for close to seven thousand years and because Kim and I, uh, you know, consummated our love, she's going to live just as long."

All four of them looked at me with wide mouths and wider eyes. Even I still hadn't fully come to grips with the fact that I was going to live that long, yet. Seven thousand years was a long time by any standards and with the direction scientists said Earth was heading, Kim and I were going to have to spend the majority of our lives on at least one different planet. Even though I was part Eltarian, Earth was still my home and part of me didn't like the idea of having to leave it.

I spent the next thirty or forty minutes telling them everything Zordon had told me, leaving as much of the stuff regarding my intimate activities with Kim out of the story as possible. By the time I had finished, they knew that Kim and I could communicate telepathically, that I was going to become an Eltarian god when I died and everything else in between.

"So you guys are going to be here for seven thousand years?" Zack asked in shock.

"Not likely, Zack," Billy interjected "At Earth's current pace, it might not last that long. Tommy and Kim would have to move to a different planet within a few thousand years, probably."

"Another planet…" Jason said as his voice trailed off.

Most of them had never been to another planet before. We'd all been on the moon in some capacity, either for the mission or in Rita's palace but Billy, Kim and I were the only ones who had actually traveled to another planet. Billy and I had gone to Edinoi to help the Masked Rider and Kim would have gone too if she hadn't been sick. Then there was Phaedos and Billy had also lived on Aquitar for quite awhile which had also increased his lifespan as well, though not nearly to the point of Kim and I. Billy would probably live a couple hundred years and Kim and I agreed that it'd be good to have at least one old friend around even if it was only for a little while.

What we didn't know at the time, but would find out later is that, with the six of us, our connections to the Morphing Grid were stronger than any other Ranger since we had been around the longest. The power had had a severe effect on our biological makeup, thus granting everyone else a good fifty or sixty years longer to live.

It was going to be cool to be a hundred years old and still be able to spar with Jason while Kim went out shopping with Trini. We had so much time and nothing to do with all of it but our boredom soon ended, at least temporarily, when the Command Center alarm went off.

"Come on guys," I said as we stood up and teleported out of the common room "What's going on, da…I mean Zordon?"

I had almost done it. I had almost called Zordon "dad" but I had caught myself before it came out. Kim and Jason both grinned at me as I felt my cheeks getting red.

"AFTER YOU FOUGHT IVAN IN SPACE, YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD DEFEATED HIM BUT HIS ABILITY TO SHIFT SHAPES ALLOWED HIM TO REGROUP ON THE FIRE PLANET WHERE HE MET A CREATURE NAMED MOLTOR," Zordon explained as we all listened in confusion "ADAM WOULD PROBABLY BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN IT BETTER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLAIN, ADAM?"

We all turned around and stared in the same spot where the replacement Rangers had landed as Adam emerged from the shadows with a smile on his face. One thing about Adam, and I don't feel weird saying it, is that he had a smile that could melt hearts. His eyes squinted slightly and you just knew that he enjoyed every second that he was alive, that he had a real appreciation for his time on Earth.

"Hey guys. It's good to see you all again," Adam said as he walked towards us, shook hands with the guys and hugged the girls "When Zordon told me about Moltor he asked me to explain it to you since I teamed up with the Overdrive Rangers. The fire planet is really an unnamed planet where Moltor was banished after, as a human, he tried to steal the _Corona Aurora_."

"The Corona A-whatta?" Zack asked in confusion.

"The _Corona Aurora_. It means Crown of the Gods," Adam explained as we nodded our heads "The Sentinel Knight hid the crown's jewels in different places to prevent Moltor from getting them. The main duty of the Overdrive Team is to protect the jewels from falling into the hands of evil."

"Okay," I said "That's all fine and good but what does that have to do with us?"

"This is what it has to do with you," Adam replied as he directed us to the Viewing Globe. The scene being played in front of us seemed to be taking place in a volcano somewhere and then we saw something that four of us in the room were hoping to never see again.

"Ecto-Morphicons," Adam explained further "Moltor helped Ivan re-build them with the promise that Ivan would help him eliminate the Overdrive Rangers when he got done with you."

"Guys. We needed the Ninja Zords to take care of Ivan's Ecto-Morphicons ," Kim muttered, speaking up for the first time "Zordon, will the Dinozords be enough to take care of them?"

Zordon looked down on us and shook his head slowly. I felt helpless. Ivan was going to attack with the Ecto-Morphicons and our Zords weren't going to be enough to stop them.

"YOU'RE DINOZORDS WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DESTROY IVAN'S ECTO-MORPHICONS," Zordon explained "BUT THERE ARE THOSE WHO HEAR THE CALL OF THE POWER AND COME TO HELP. RANGERS OF OLD, PLEASE STEP FORWARD."

We all turned our heads again as Rocky and Aisha stepped out from the shadows and went to Adam's side. They were both wearing smiles and staring back at us as we gave them knowing head nods.

"WITH THE ADDITION OF NEW EVIL, IT IS TIME FOR THE ADDITION OF NEW GOOD. RANGERS OF OLD, PLEASE STEP FORWARD AND RECEVIE YOUR POWER" Zordon began as a different shade of light hit each of them "AISHA CAMPBELL, PURE OF MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT. YOU WILL BECOME THE NEW ZEO RANGER TWO, YELLOW. ROCKY DESANTOS, WISE AND STRONG, THE POWER OF ZEO RANGER THREE, BLUE IS YOURS. ADAM PARK, NO SINGULAR ADJECTIVE COULD DO YOU JUSTICE. THROUGH FROGS AND MINIVANS YOU HAVE STOOD STRONG AS A RANGER. YOU ARE ONCE AGAIN ZEO RANGER FOUR, GREEN."

We watched as the light rained down brighter on them and Adam smiled slightly at Zordon's comment before their suits enveloped them. Like any of us did when we received a new power, they took off their helmets and inspected their suits before looking at each other and smiling.

"Welcome back guys," I said as I shook hands with Adam and Rocky before hugging Aisha "It's great to have you all back."

"It's great to be back, even if it is only temporary," Rocky retorted happily.

"RANGERS, IVAN HAS SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS REBUILDING THE ECTO-MORPHICONS AND PREPARING FOR THIS DAY," Zordon explained to us "IF YOU CAN DESTROY HIS CREATIONS, IT WILL MOST CERTAINLY DEAL IVAN A NEAR FATAL BLOW. IVAN DOES NOT THINK ABOUT CONTINGENCY PLANS AND ONLY FOCUSES ON ONE WAY TO DO THINGS."

"So if we destroy the Ecto-Morphicons now, Ivan will leave us alone?" Aisha asked as she looked up at Zordon.

"I CAN'T BE CERTAIN, AISHA, BUT IT IS LIKELY THAT IVAN WOULD BE FORCED TO RETREAT AT LEAST TEMPORARILY," Zordon answered "IF IVAN DOES INDEED RETREAT LIKE I EXPECT HE WILL, YOU WILL ALL BE FREE OF RANGER DUTY AGAIN BUT I WOULD ASK THAT YOU REMAIN ON STANDBY IN CASE IVAN RETURNS."

"Dad," I said confidently as Rocky, Adam and Aisha looked at me in surprise "We've been on call since the day we left. We'll take out those Ecto-Morphicons when Ivan attacks and send him packing. If he comes back, we'll do it again and we'll continue to do it until he's dead or gives up."

"MY SON…" Zordon began and then stopped, his voice trailing off as his eyes went from me to Kim to Jason and then back to me.

I looked over at Jason and gave him the look that said now wasn't the time for everyone to be standing around and listening. He quickly started ushering everyone out but I held on to Kim's hand as she tried to leave and made sure Jason stayed as well.

_What's going on? _Kim asked me.

_He's got something to say to us. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. _I replied as she nodded her head.

"YOU THREE MAKE ME SO PROUD AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WITH YOUR NEW TEAMMATES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO DEFEAT IVAN," Zordon started quietly "BUT AFTER THAT YOU MUST FIGHT WITHOUT ME. I WAS GRANTED A REPRIEVE FROM MY DUTIES ON ELTAR TO GUIDE YOU ON YOUR WAY BUT YOU KNOW NOW WHAT MUST BE DONE. I WILL SAY GOODBYE ONE LAST TIME TO THE RANGERS AND THEN THEY WILL BE IN YOUR HANDS."

"What do you mean they'll be in our hands?" I asked hesitantly.

"YOU MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM. MAINTAIN CONTACT SO YOU KNOW WHAT THE OTHERS ARE GOING THROUGH AND DOING," he answered "AND IF IVAN ATTACKS AGAIN AFTER THE NEXT BATTLE, YOU THREE MUST BE THE ONES TO REORGANIZE THE RANGERS. THEY LISTEN TO YOU AND THEY RESPECT YOU. WITHOUT THE THREE OF YOU, THERE WOULD NOT BE POWER RANGERS."

We all looked around at each other and gave each other confident and understanding looks and nods. Taking care of Ivan now meant some kind of reprieve and the ability to go back to a normal life, at least temporarily. For some reason, even though I was still going to uphold my promise to protect, I didn't feel the need to be a Ranger anymore. I had gotten the closure I so desperately wanted and had made amends with Zordon which was what I had always wanted.

Zordon…it clicked. The desire to be a Ranger was being subconsciously fueled by my desire for answers. I associated being a Ranger with being around Zordon. The only reason I wanted to be a Ranger so bad was because I needed closure and now that I had that, being a Ranger didn't seem like such a big deal anymore...but I didn't have the heart to tell Zordon that.

_I feel the same way, my love._ Kim said to me with a smile.

We had been working on controlling her abilities during the downtime between battles and she had been getting better at it. I was impressed with how quickly she was picking up on everything and her ability to control the power.

_Am I a bad person because of that? _I asked _Zordon puts so much faith in us and I don't even want to do it anymore._

_I don't either but the others do. I thought I wanted to do it at first but I don't now. They're all into it but we're not. Why is that?_

_Probably because we have something better than this. Before I got back together with you, being a Ranger was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. For them, it still is. I've got everything I need to walk away from this life permanently and spend the next six or seven thousand years with you._

_Then let's end this now. Let's take care of Ivan and not give him a chance to get back up. I could go the rest of my life with never picking up another Morpher._

_I like the way that sounds, Beautiful. When Ivan makes his move, we'll be ready._

"You're doing it, aren't you?" Jason asked, snapping us from our conversation "You're doing your little head talking thing, huh?"

"No," I lied and turned my head to hide my grin "We, uh, we weren't doing anything like that."

I looked up at Zordon who was smiling proudly and I gave him a discreet wink. I knew he was proud of us for what we were doing and that was the only reason I felt guilty about not wanting to be a Ranger anymore. If it had been Dulcea or Ninjor or Dimitria or Lerigot I wouldn't have had a problem walking away but I couldn't turn my back on Zordon, not after everything I knew now.

"Uh-huh, sure. Whatever. You guys have your silent conversation," Jason said with a grin as he patted me on the shoulder "I'm going to go have a real one with _my_ girlfriend. I'll see you guys later."

Kim and I waved goodbye as Jason turned and walked down the hallway disappearing around the corner a few seconds later. Then it was just Kim and I as Zordon looked down on us and smiled.

"I KNOW YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THIS, RANGERS," he said as Kim and I looked at each other in surprise "BUT I AM PROUD THAT YOU ARE STILL WILLING TO FIGHT. WHEN THIS IS DONE, I WILL HAVE ADAM AND AISHA TAKE YOUR SPOTS ON THE TEAM."

Tears filled Kim's eyes as I put a comforting arm around her. Zordon was offering us the choice to walk away after we took care of Ivan. It _was_ what Kim and I both wanted, after all.

"I don't want to walk away, dad," I said as he smiled at me "Being a Ranger was, and still is, a huge part of who I am. Life would be boring if I wasn't a Ranger. I just don't want to do it everyday. The Red Ranger mission was cool because it was a one-time thing. There are so many new things I want to do now that I know the truth and I can't do those things if I'm a Ranger permanently."

I gave Kim's shoulder a tight squeeze as she looked up at me and smiled. She wiped her eyes and nodded her head in agreement before I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.

"We want to fight, Zordon. And we will if we're needed," Kim added as Zordon nodded "But not like this, not anymore. You've been like a father to us all, some more than others, and I feel like I'm letting you down by saying this but I just don't have the heart do to it every day anymore. When we were kids, it was different but I have a son and the man I've loved since I was 16 back with me and, for once, I have something more important than being a Ranger and saving the world in my life."

Kim was full on crying now and I pulled her into a tight hug as she buried her face against my chest and let it all out. I was expecting a look of disappointment on Zordon's face when I looked up at him but he was wearing nothing but a proud smile.

"YOU TWO HAVE TURNED INTO SUCH FINE PEOPLE. BLOOD OR NO BLOOD, YOU ARE BOTH MY CHILDREN AND I WILL STAND BY ANY DECISION YOU MAKE," he said to us "I WILL DISCUSS WITH TRINI AND ADAM TAKING YOUR PLACE WITH JASON BUT KNOW THAT YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE A HOME HERE AND WITH THE RANGERS. I SENSE THAT THE TIME FOR IVAN TO LAUNCH HIS ATTACK IS NEARING. YOU MAY ONLY HAVE A FEW DAYS TO PREPARE FOR THE ATTACK. YOU MUST GO AND BEGIN FORMULATING A PLAN WITH THE OTHER RANGERS."

"Go on, Kim," I whispered as I gave her an encouraging look "I'll be right behind you. I just have a few things to say."

She gave me a knowing head nod and a quick kiss on the cheek before taking the same route as Jason did out of the room. And then I cried. I cried like a baby and I didn't know why I was doing it. Maybe it was because Zordon was leaving or maybe it was because I finally felt comfortable enough to walk away on my own terms, something I never got the chance to do before.

"TOMMY, MY SON," he boomed as I looked up and sniffled "YOU ARE A GREAT WARRIOR AND AN EVEN BETTER PERSON. I AM PROUD TO CALL YOU THE GREATEST POWER RANGER OF ALL TIME BUT I AM EVEN MORE PROUD TO CALL YOU MY SON. YOU HAVE DONE THINGS I NEVER IMAGINED POSSIBLE AND I FEEL COMFORTABLE WALKING AWAY KNOWING YOU HAVE INFLUENCED THE ONES WHO WILL LEAD THE TEAM."

"Will we ever see each other again when this is over?" I asked as he gave me a comforting smile. After everything he had just said to me, with the others and in private, that was all I could manage to say to him.

"PERHAPS. PERHAPS NOT. I CAN NOT BE CERTAIN BUT I WILL ALWAYS BE JUST A BUTTON AWAY, MY SON," he answered and then pointed to his wrist "YOU MAY CALL ME AT ANYTIME AND I WILL BE THERE TO GUIDE YOU IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE. NOW GO HELP YOUR FRIENDS, DEFEAT IVAN AND LIVE THE LIFE WITH KIMBERLY THAT YOU TWO HAVE ALWAYS DREAMED OF. YOU BOTH HAVE EARNED IT."

I nodded my head in understanding and then followed in Jason's and Kim's footsteps but when I reached the hallway I stopped. Slowly, I turned around and faced him for what could have been one of the last times but I wasn't facing Zordon, I was facing my father. I had called him dad a couple times already but this was the first time I was looking at him and seeing him not as my mentor, but as my father, the person who gave me life and all the amazing things that came with it.

"Dad," I said simply as he looked down at me "Thank you…for everything. You've given me so much between being a Ranger and my friends and Kim. I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me."

"YOU DESERVE IT ALL, TOMMY. YOU HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO GET WHERE YOU ARE NOW AND YOU HAVE EARNED THE BEST LIFE HAS TO OFFER YOU," he replied with a warm grin "AS LONG AS YOU LIVE, I KNOW THE WORLD AND THE UNIVERSE WILL BE SAFE. TAKE CARE OF KIMBERLY. THERE IS STILL MUCH FOR YOU TO KNOW AND KIMBERLY WILL NEED YOU MORE THAN EVER IN THE NEAR FUTURE. YOU MUST BE STRONG THROUGH EVERYTHING, TOMMY, BUT I DON'T NEED TO TELL YOU THAT. BE SAFE, MY SON. I LOVE YOU."

And then he was gone. He had just said he loved me and that Kim was going to need me but he had disappeared before I could ask any questions. I didn't even get the chance to tell him that I loved him.

"I love you too, dad," I muttered sadly as I turned around and left the room, not looking back at everything I was going to be leaving behind shortly.

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When I got back to the common room ten minutes later I found it empty and assumed everyone had gone back to their own quarters or possibly to the gym on the bottom floor. I laughed at the hole in the wall and then decided to try to our flat first and found Kim asleep on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on her stomach going up and down with each breath she took.

What had Zordon meant when he said there were still things I didn't know about and that Kim was going to need me more than ever? Was she in some kind of danger? The thought of Kim in trouble scared the holy hell out of me.

I flopped down in the recliner and stared at her as she slept soundly, apparently oblivious to whatever Zordon was talking about. The television was on and since she was asleep, and I wasn't going to watch it, I clicked it off and then got up to leave the room.

"I was watching that you know," Kim said groggily as I turned around and smiled.

"Sorry, Beautiful. I didn't mean to wake you," I replied as she pushed herself into a sitting position and patted the cushion next to her, instructing me to sit next to her.

"It's okay. I'm glad you're here," she said with a forced smile as tears filled her eyes and immediately I grabbed her hands "There's something I need to talk to you about, Tommy."

"What is it, Beautiful?" I asked with concern "What's going on? Are you in trouble? Is everything okay?"

My mouth was moving a mile a minute but I couldn't control it. The tears had thrown me into protector mode and something was clearly bothering Kim. She reached under the cushion of the couch and pulled out a manila envelope that she had apparently been hiding and handed it to me.

"What is this, Kim?" I asked in shock as I looked at the contents of the envelope "What does all this mean? When did this happen? Can he even do that?"

"We never had an official custody agreement in court or anything. I didn't think I'd need one after he left," she sobbed loudly "Technically he has legal grounds to file for joint custody of Nathan. Why after five years?! Why does he give a damn now when everything had been so perfect?!"

I didn't have an answer so I pulled her into a tight hug as she cried against my shirt and held on to me. Her body shook back and forth and I was trying to steady her but she was scared. I had seen her fight monsters, jump out of airplanes and take a header before falling eighty feet, unconscious no less, and none of that stuff had scared her. I was scared now because she was scared.

"When did this happen?" I asked as I held her hands tightly.

"A few hours before Jason and Trini came over that night," she cried "You were at the gym when the guy came to serve me and when you came home you immediately got in the shower and almost as soon as you came out, Jason and Trini showed up. I was going to tell you afterwards but then we ended up here and everything happened so fast and I just…Tommy, he wants to take Nathan away from me. He wants my son."

"Ssshh, it's okay, Kim. I've got an idea," I said as Kim looked up at me with the faintest look of hope in her eyes and I pulled my cell phone out.

Silently, I prayed my idea worked because I didn't think I could live with her like this if it didn't. I put the phone up to my ear and waited as it rang a few times and then picked up.

"Anton Mercer Industries, this is Amy. How can I help you?" the receptionist picked up.

"Hi Amy, my name is _Dr_. Oliver," I said, making sure to emphasize the "doctor" part "I'm a friend of Anton's. Is he around by any chance? It's important."

"_Thee_, Dr. Oliver? As in, the one that saved his life?" she asked as I chuckled my confirmation "He's in a meeting but let me see if I can grab him for you."

"Thanks, Amy," I answered sweetly as the elevator music started playing.

I mouthed the words "I'm on hold" to Kim as she nodded her head and remained silent. It took a few minutes but eventually Amy came back on and told me she would transfer me to Anton's office phone.

"Tommy, how are you?" Anton asked as he came on the line "How's Angel Grove treating you."

"It's good. Thanks for asking," I answered "Look, I have to be honest with you Anton. This isn't a social call."

"Well then what's going on?" he asked "Are you in trouble? Did something happen?"

I told him that I wasn't in trouble and then spent the next ten minutes explaining everything that had happened recently. Kim's eyes grew wide when I started telling Anton about her and her situation but I gave her a reassuring look and squeezed her hands, signifying that it was okay. When I had finally finished, Anton let out an exasperated breath like I had just read him all of _The Iliad_ in those ten minutes.

"Do you want me to call Goldstein?" he asked and I said that I did.

John Goldstein had represented Anton when the state tried to take Trent away after everyone found out he had been Mesogog. Celebrity parents used him all the time in custody battles and he was famous for winning at all costs even if it meant hitting below the belt a couple times.

"Tell him we'll pay him whatever he wants upfront and that we'll double it if Kim gets full custody of Nathan," I said as Anton let out a laugh and I frowned.

"That won't be necessary, Tommy. I'll take care of it, it's the least I can do," he replied and I smiled at Kim, giving her a thumbs up "Well, besides paying off your mortgage and keeping everything running in your house for the next ten years but that's for another time.

"Yeah…wait, what?" I asked in shock "You did what? Why?"

"I told you I would pay you back for what you did, Tommy. I owe you my life and I keep my promises," he answered with a chuckle "I know how stressful custody battles can be and I was going to do it anyway but you and your fiancée don't need the stress of paying a lawyer and a mortgage on top of what I know you're doing in Angel Grove. I've seen the news and I must say, white is definitely better than black for you."

"Umm…wow…I don't know what to say," I muttered "I mean, thanks of course, I just wasn't expecting that. You didn't have to do that, Anton."

"I know that, but I wanted to," he replied "But I ran out of a meeting to talk to you. I'll give Goldstein a call tonight and leave him your contact information. Take care of yourself and take care of your family, Tommy. They're the most important things a person has and I know what it feels like to almost lose the person you care about most."

"So do I, Anton. So do I," I said softly "Thanks again for everything. I'll talk to you soon."

I flipped my phone shut and then fell back on the couch as Kim crawled on top of me. After letting out a deep breath, I smiled at her and pulled her in close.

"What happened?" she asked "How's Anton going to help us and what did he do that he didn't need to do?"

"When Anton changed back from Mesogog, the state tried to take Trent away from him. Anton's fixing us up with the best lawyer in the country to help you keep Nathan," I said with a smile as more tears filled Kim's eyes "And on top of that, he paid off my mortgage completely and all my utilities in Reefside for the next ten years. All because I saved his life."

"He must really like you to do all that," Kim muttered and I nodded my head as she started to cry again "Tommy, I'm so scared. I can't lose Nathan. Alex had his chance and he blew it. You can't let them take Nathan from me, Tommy. You can't."

I went to reply but suddenly she jumped off of the couch and took off in a dead sprint towards the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and locked it but I walked over anyway and put my ear against the door. I cringed at the sound of Kim vomiting over and over until I heard the toilet flush and the sink faucet turn on a few minutes later.

She had thrown up a few times in the past couple days but insisted that it was just some kind of bug. She came out a few minutes later and brushed past me with an embarrassed look on her face as she grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter. She began fixing her makeup and when she was done, she started walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Out," she answered simply "I need some fresh air."

"Do you want any company?" I asked in reply and she shook her head.

"No, I just need some alone time to sort everything out in my head," she replied "I'll be back within an hour or so. Don't worry."

I nodded my head and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as she gave me a hug and then left the room. I understood that she wanted to be alone but that didn't change the fact that I still wanted to be there for her. With Kim gone, I found Jason and took him downstairs to spar a little bit.

If I had been paying attention, I would have seen Kim watching us until we were out of sight before she teleported away. And if I had stayed in the hallway with Jason, we would have seen Kim come back a few minutes later and sneak back into our room with something in her hand.

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_Three hours later…_

Jason and I had been gone close to two hours when I got back and found our bedroom door locked. I knocked a couple times but Kim didn't answer so I figured she was taking a nap or something since she said she wanted to be alone.

After grabbing an energy drink out of the fridge, I sat in the recliner and kicked the footrest up before turning on the television. Monday Night Football was on and I knew it was a big game between the Colts and Patriots for home field advantage during the playoffs.

Personally, I was rooting for the Colts but only because my adoptive dad was from Maryland and had turned me on to the team when they were still playing in Baltimore. Halftime had just started and the Colts were up a touchdown when I heard the bedroom door open.

I turned around and faced my head towards the door as Kim walked out with her hands behind her back. She had a smile on her face but looked equally nervous at the same time.

"What's up, sweetie? How are you feeling?" I asked as her expression grew solemn "What's wrong, Kim?"

"Zordon, apparently," she answered as I looked at her in confusion and she held up something in her hands that I didn't recognize immediately "Apparently human birth control doesn't work with Eltarians. Tommy…I'm pregnant."

_PREGNANT!? _I screamed inside my head. I wanted to burst from the seams and hug her and kiss her and jump up and down with her. I was so happy I couldn't stand it and a huge smile crept across my face as I got up and pulled Kim into a huge bear hug.

"Oh my God, Kim. This is incredible," I muttered as tears filled my eyes and I set her down "You're really pregnant? Like, with a kid?"

"No, Tommy, with a rat. Of course it's a kid," she said sarcastically as I stuck my tongue out at her and she poked me in the chest "You're kid to be more specific. Is this what you want, Tommy?"

"Of course!" I answered excitedly "Kim, this is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I can't believe this is happening."

I think she was expecting a different response because tears filled her eyes and she got one of the happiest smiles on her face that I'd ever seen. She threw her arms around my neck and held onto me as a knock came at the door. I let go of Kim and opened it to find Nathan outside with Alpha 6.

"Yo, Tommy. The kid heard ya yelling and he wanted to check it out," Alpha said "I told him it was probably nothing but he insisted."

"Thanks, Alpha," I said as I bent down and picked Nathan up "I got him. You can go now."

Alpha walked away and I shut the door behind us as I carried Nathan into the living room and set him down on the couch. He got a look of concern on his face when he looked at his mom and saw that she was crying.

"You made mommy cry!" Nathan yelled as he jumped off the couch and started punching me in the leg "You promised me. You promised me, Tommy!"

I didn't know what to do. Obviously, I couldn't fight back but I wasn't a big fan of being punched in the leg, especially not by a kid who was at the perfect height to hit something else if he wanted to.

"Nathan, stop!" Kim called out as she grabbed Nathan and pulled him off me, setting him on the couch and pointing a stern finger at him "I'm not crying because of Tommy. He didn't do anything wrong. You owe him an apology right now, young man."

He looked at me angrily and then turned his attention to Kim with puppy dog eyes and pouted lips but she held her ground. Eventually, he rolled his eyes and looked back at me.

"Sorry, Tommy. I shouldn't have hit you," he said as I nodded my head and he looked at Kim "But if Tommy didn't do anything then why are you sad?"

"I'm not sad, Nathan," Kim answered "I'm really, really happy."

"But if you're happy then why are you crying?" he asked innocently.

I couldn't be upset or mad at him. He had seen that his mom was crying and he had reacted to that without knowing why she was acting that way. At his age, I knew they acted first and thought about it later.

"Your mom's crying because some times really great things happen and that can make people cry too," I explained gently "They're called tears of joy. That's what your mom has, Nathan. They aren't sad tears, they're happy tears."

"Okay but why is she crying?" he asked "What's making her so happy?"

_Do you want to tell him?_ I asked and she nodded her head before reaching out and taking my hand.

_I'll tell him but stay here with me_ she said as she turned towards Nathan.

"Nathan, Mommy's pregnant," Kim explained slowly as tears filled both our eyes this time "You're going to have a little brother or sister soon."

Nathan's eyes lit up as a smile spread across his face. He jumped off the couch and started making motions with his hands as he recited all the things he was going to do with his future sibling which ranged from teaching he or she how to play catch to the proper etiquette for slurping milk.

"Are you happy, Nathan?" Kim asked as Nathan nodded his head and said that he was.

"Can I go back and play with Alpha now, though?" he asked with a smile.

"Sure," Kim answered "I'll call him and have him meet you in your play room, okay?"

Nathan nodded his head and skipped out of the room happily, now reciting what _he _was going to name the new baby when it arrived. Kim and I looked over at each other and smiled as we reached out in unison and embraced each other.

So much had happened in just one day and it was all a lot to swallow. We had basically agreed to be all but retired, only on call in case of absolute emergency after the battle with Ivan. Not only that but Kim was about to enter a custody battle with the jerk who wanted nothing to do with her five years ago and on top of that, she was pregnant.

Things had started out rocky with telling Zordon about our plans and seeing the paperwork that Kim had shown me but something great had happened as well. Sometimes, when you're really down in the dumps, a little light of goodness can go a long way and I was confident now that everything was going to work out in the end. Ivan was going down, we were going to keep Nathan, we were going to get married and Kim was going to have our child.

Nothing was going to stop me from achieving those goals; not being a Ranger, not some judge and definitely not that piece of shit, Alex. Things were going to be perfect and I refused to settle for anything less than that.


	19. One For The Ages

Zordon had said two days tops before Ivan tried to attack Earth again. It had been twelve. When the two day estimate had passed we gave it a couple more days before Kim and I just got flat out bored. I wanted it to be done with and I could tell Kim did too but the others didn't seem to mind.

We had told them of our decision to leave after the battle a few days ago and they were all really supportive of us. Most of them didn't even seem to care and just went on like nothing had changed and business was normal.

Rocky bounced around like nothing at all had happened, more hyper then ever and he had gotten to Zack which was the worst part. After their little scuffle at Trini's they bonded like old friends and when one did something stupid, you could be sure the other wasn't far behind.

It got to the point where Rocky was driving me so crazy that I wanted to jump him and strangle the perkiness out of his body. He only helped fuel the fire on Day Twelve of playing the Waiting Game.

I stepped out of my room that morning on my way for some breakfast to find Zack flying down the hallway on a skateboard with a bucket of water intended for the first person he saw. Luckily, I wasn't that person.

Jason had been in the hallway too and his room was before mine. Zack got him with the water and then winked at me he as flew by and I doubled over in laughter, pointing my finger at Jason. I was so caught up with Jason that I didn't see Rocky come from behind me on Zack's skateboard with a water bucket of his own.

Now it was Jason's turn to point and laugh at me. We were both standing there in the hallway soaked and laughing at each other for thirty seconds or so when I realized that we were standing in the hallway soaked and laughing at each other. Why were we doing that when we should have been formulating a plan of attack to get them back?

I stopped laughing and gave Jason a serious look. He called it the "Take No Prisoners" look because I got it anytime anything bad happened to Kim or I had been "Jackassed" which is how we referred to ourselves when a fellow Club member got us with a prank.

"We need a plan, bro," Jason mumbled seriously "We gotta get them back and we gotta get them back good."

"I have a plan," I replied "What we need is help."

"What do you have in mind?" Jason asked as I walked up to him, threw my arm around his shoulder playfully and led him down the hall.

"All in due time, my friend. All in due time," I answered "Let's go pay our friendly neighborhood scientist a little visit."

Jason gave me a sly smile as we approached Billy's room and knocked on the door. Normally, we didn't go to each other's rooms, we just met in the common room or the hallway but desperate times called for desperate measures. I nearly died from laughter when Billy came to the door in nothing but his glasses and a pair of blue boxers with wolves all over them.

"You have got to be shitting me?" Jason laughed as we held onto each other for balance.

"Dude, dude. Hooow-woooooo!" I called out in my best wolf impersonation.

"Can I help you gentlemen with something?" Billy asked with an unimpressed look on his face "Or are you just going to stand there and gawk at my physique?"

Billy started flexing and I let out a hearty chuckle as I patter him on the shoulder and brushed past him into his quarters. Jason followed behind a few seconds later and I saw Billy throw his hands up in disgust and roll his eyes as we entered uninvited.

"We need your help, Billy," Jason said to him as he sat down on the couch across from us "The Club needs your help."

"The Club?" Billy asked as his eyes glimmered for a second "What's the reason and what's the plan?"

"The reason is because Zack and Rocky thought it'd be amusing to come flying down the hallway on skateboards with buckets of cold water and dump them on us," I answered and Billy let out a chuckle which I frowned at slightly "The plan is something like this…"

I spent the next twenty minutes filling them in on my plan for Rocky and Zack. When it was all said and done Jason and Billy had twinkles of pride in their eyes that I could come up with such a plan.

_All those years as a leader paid off _I said to myself with a silent chuckle and then asked "So, are you guys in?"

"Affirmative," Billy answered with a smile "I'll have to pay a visit to my father's house and make sure he has all the necessary equipment. If he does, I'm in."

"And you?" I asked, turning my attention to Jason.

"Do you even have to ask?" he asked in reply with a broad grin "It's not even a question, bro."

Rocky and Zack were going to pay for what they had done that morning. We were going to get them and we were going to get them good. By the time we were finished with them, they were going to hate themselves for messing with us.

"One," Jason said as he stuck his fist out and I rolled my eyes.

"Three," I grumbled as my fist met his.

"Six," Billy confirmed with a head nod.

"Billy, go pay your dad a visit. Jason, you come with me. We're gonna go on a little supply run," I ordered as they nodded "Let's do it, ladies. One-three-six on three. One, two, three."

"One-Three-Six!" we yelled in unison and then went our separate ways.

Billy must have completely forgotten that he was wearing boxers because he took of in a dead sprint out the door and I head Kim let out a loud shriek. Jason and I ran out into the hallway and Kim was pointing at Billy and laughing while his cheeks just got redder and redder.

"Guys, guys. Hoooooow-woooooooo!" Kim howled and Billy spun on his heels, storming into his quarters with an embarrassed look on her face "So where are you two off to with Wolfboy over there?"

"Uh, we, uh, aren't going anywhere," Jason stammered and I rolled my eyes "It's, uh, official Club business."

"Club business, huh?" Kim asked enticingly "May I ask who it involves?"

"It's Zack and Rocky if you must know," I answered begrudgingly as Kim's eyes lit up at Rocky's name.

I had completely forgotten about what Rocky had done on the camping trip and that Kim would want revenge for the water bucket. When her eyes lit up I instantly remembered everything that had happened.

"Are you interested in the initiation process?" I asked with a grin as Jason stared at me in shock.

"No chicks, dude," he hissed "Rule Number Twelve, remember?"

"Jason, think about what was on our list," I replied as he recited the things I had told him "Now think about the very last one. Do you want to buy those?" I asked as he shook his head no "Neither do I. So, Kim, are you interested?"

"Very," she replied with a sly grin and clapped her hands "What's the plan?"

"We'll explain it on the way," I answered "Come on, let's go."

"What's the point of having a club if everyone and their mother is joining?" Jason grumbled as he followed behind and I pretended to ignore him.

Kim squeezed my hand as soon as he said it and I knew it had upset her at least a little bit. I didn't need to read her mind to know that.

_It's okay, Kim. He didn't mean that. It's just, if you join there's only two people who aren't in. You know how much Jason hates change._

_Then I won't join. I don't want to be in your dumb club anyway. I just want to get Rocky back for what he did. I had leaves in my hair for three days straight after that. Just let me get him back with you guys tonight. That's all I want._

_Good. I'm glad to hear that because the things we do to members are ten times worse than the things we do to outsiders. I'd hate to think of all the ways I'd have to punish you._

The innuendo wasn't lost on either of us and Kim reached over and squeezed my butt as Jason let out a groan from behind us. She turned around and stuck her tongue out as Jason grabbed his own tongue and acted like he was going to cut it off. Kim instantly put her tongue back in her mouth after the mock threat from Jason.

We teleported out from the Command Center a few minutes later, arriving at the protected area Zordon had established for our vehicles. I looked at Jason and he pointed at me, signifying that he didn't have his keys as I nodded and we headed towards my Jeep.

Kim rode shotgun which Jason responded to with an eye roll. Normally, Jason wouldn't have cared but as the day wore on, I got the feeling that something was bothering him and I was pretty sure I knew what it was. We pulled up to a grocery store in Angel Grove a few minutes later and I told Kim telepathically to go inside because Jason and I needed to talk. She gave me a nod and a kiss on the cheek as she exited the Jeep. Jason tried to follow but I reached out and stopped him, pushing him back into his seat.

"Talk," I said as he looked at me with a confused expression "Don't give me that shit, Jase. You've been on Kim at least a couple times today so talk to me. What's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he grumbled and then tried to get out again but I pushed him back down which got me another eye roll "Fine. You want to know what's bothering me? You're walking away and leaving the team. We were supposed to be the Bash Brothers, man. We were the Portman and Fulton of the Rangers and you're just walking away from it."

"Portman and Fulton?" I asked with a chuckle "Jase, I'm not leaving for good. Kim and I will be on call if we're ever needed. But, out of all the Rangers, I thought you'd be the most happy that I was leaving. You got the chance to leave on your own terms, I didn't. I've spent my whole adult life wondering if I was going to get that call to come back and, honestly bro, I don't feel bad about leaving. For once, I'm making a decision that benefits me and not the Rangers."

"I know, man. I'm happy for you, I really am. It's just…" he muttered as his eyes started to fill with tears "It's not going to be the same without you. Part of the reason I was so excited about doing this was because I missed fighting with you. We always fought so well together and I missed that, especially when I left for Switzerland. Can I tell you something, bro? I've never told anyone this before, not even Trini."

"Come on, bro. You know you can tell me anything," I answered with an understanding smile.

"I wanted to come back the second I got on that plane. I fucking hated Switzerland and I hated the way I felt when I walked away from the team," he replied as I looked back in surprise. I had always thought Jason had wanted to go to Switzerland but now he was telling me that that wasn't the case. "Why do you think I took the chance to come back as the Gold Ranger without any hesitation? I wouldn't have done it if there wasn't at least one person left from the old team. I've regretted leaving the team everyday of my life, especially after Murianthis. If I had stayed a Ranger that would have never happened to me."

"Yeah, and if you had stayed we wouldn't have needed a twelve year-old to be a Ranger," I grumbled as Jason let out a chuckle "And if Trini or 'Sha had never left we wouldn't have needed Tanya and if Kim had never left we wouldn't have needed Kat and if Zack hadn't left we wouldn't have needed Adam. Jase, I can go on and on like this if you want. We all have to leave sometime and for me, that time is now. Well, as soon as we take care of Ivan, that is. I'm sorry, Jase. I'm not saying I'll never fight again but I just don't want to do it anymore. I'm finally ready for something different."

"I know man. I'm sorry for being a dick," he muttered and wiped at his eyes "Enough of this sappy shit. Are we gonna pull a prank or what?"

"Goddamn man, I was hoping you'd say that," I answered as I pulled the keys out of the ignition and hopped out of the Jeep.

Jason got out and we made our way towards the entrance to the grocery store but right as we got to the door, Jason stopped me with a hand on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the talk, Tommy," he said as he stuck out his hand.

"Anytime, bro," I replied, ignoring the offer for a handshake and putting my arm around his shoulder in a friendly hug instead as we walked into the store.

Jason grabbed a basket and we walked up and down the aisles, picking things up off the shelves and tossing them into the basket. Apparently, the sight of two men shopping in a grocery store together was enough to grab the attention of a pair of young girls who I could hear whispering about us.

"They think we're gay," I muttered as Jason's eyes widened and I turned around to give them a wink as both girls let out high pitch squeals "Let's fuck with them."

"Are you serious?" Jason hissed "No way. It was funny with Rocky and Zack but I don't bat from that side of the plate."

"Neither do I. But it would still be funny," I replied and then squeezed Jason's butt as he jumped into the air and the girls squealed again. Jason's face was redder than his uniform and he stared silent daggers at me as I smiled back. "Oh, come on thilly," I said in my best lisp "Itth not that bad thweetie."

We went up and down a few more aisles with no more antics causing the girls to get bored and leave us a few minutes later. I pulled a couple of cans of shaving cream off one of the shelves and then crashed the cart into Kim's as we turned the corner.

"Fancy seeing you here stranger," she said with a smile and then lowered her voice so only I could hear "Did you figure out what was wrong with Captain Dickhead back there?"

"Yeah," I answered "Go talk to him."

She opened her mouth to object but I put a finger over her lips and nodded my head towards Jason. After a few seconds of persuasion she rolled her eyes and walked over to Jason who pulled her off to the side and out of earshot.

I watched for a few minutes, guarding both baskets as the pair talked near the toothpaste and mouthwash. From what I could see, the conversation had started badly with Kim rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest but by the end of it, the tides had changed and it ended in a tight, friendly embrace between the pair.

_Portman and Fulton, huh?_ Kim asked with a grin _I pictured you as more of a Goldberg type, personally._

_GOLDBERG? GOLDBERG? _I yelled back _If anyone is Goldberg it's Rocky. He heats non-stop and farts all the time._

_Oh give it a rest, tough guy. I'd love you even if you were Goldberg. Well, maybe not if you farted all the time but…_

_I get the picture_ I interjected and put my arm around her before kissing her on the cheek _I love you, Kim. I'm glad we're finally doing something for us, too."_

"Knock that shit off," Jason cut in with a grin "I hate when you two do that shit. It's so obvious it's disgusting. You guys just stopped in the middle of the produce aisle staring and smiling at each other for like three minutes without saying a word."

"Did you grab the carrots or were you too busy gawking at us to remember?" I asked as Jason held up the bag of carrots which immediately silenced me.

"What's left on the list, Oh-Fearless-Leader?" Jason sneered with a laugh.

"Let's see what we have so far," I answered and looked over the contents of both baskets for a minute "We still need honey and Pepto-Bismol."

"Liquid or tablets?" Jason asked and I rolled my eyes "Right. What good would tablets be? My bad."

I chuckled a little bit and rolled my eyes again as we continued through the store and grabbed the rest of the necessary items, picking up a few extras on the way when ideas spontaneously hit us. We had one last stop, the most important stop if our plan was going to work. We needed the alcohol aisle.

"Get some cheap vodka and a bottle of Everclear," I said to Jason who nodded and retrieved the bottles "They are soooo dead. This is going to be better than the Putties."

As soon as I said it, I instantly regretted it. I forgot that Kim was standing right behind me and that I had told her I had no involvement in it.

_Jason told me_ I said to Kim quickly as she rolled her eyes at me _Okay, I knew. I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to be mad at me. It was Billy's idea, I swear._

_Just shut up and be glad I love you_ Kim sneered and I smiled brightly _But you owe me big time. Like, deep tissue massage, breakfast in bed and candlelit champagne bubble bath big time._

"I said, knock that shit off," Jason interrupted sternly "It's creepy. You get all googly-eyed and shit. It's freaking weird."

"Whatever," I grumbled and gave Kim a nod, agreeing to her terms "We got everything? Good. Let's checkout and go. We still have a lot of work to do. Which reminds me, Jason. Go call Billy while Kim and I pay for this stuff."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Jason saluted and turned on his heels, marching towards the door. When he was a few steps from the automatic doors he yelled out for us and we turned around with embarrassed looks as he waved his hand in front of the doors and they opened /"Strong with the Force is this one," Jason said loudly in a dead on Yoda as Kim and I turned around, completely embarrassed and went for the checkout lane furthest from Jason which happened to be the longest as well.

It took almost twenty minutes to get to the front of the line. Kim and I looked at each other with pissed off expressions when we saw the kid at the checkout stand had a nametag on that said "Trainee" underneath it. What kind of grocery store puts a trainee on the busiest aisle on a Saturday afternoon?

It took another ten minutes for the kid to get everything scanned in and another five minutes for him to call the manager because he couldn't get the machine to read Kim's check. Now I was semi-pissed at Kim. Who the fuck still writes checks?

I offered to pay with my debit card a couple times but Kim insisted on writing a check. She said we were equal partners in an equal relationship and that things needed to be equal between us. Yes, she said it just like that, using the word "equal" three times in one sentence.

"Why didn't you just use your debit card instead of writing a check?" I asked her as we walked out of the store "I saw it in your wallet. It would have saved us like ten extra minutes of hassle."

"The kid's gotta learn sometime," Kim said with a smile and I rolled my eyes "What? I worked in a grocery store in Florida to help pay for college before I got famous. All I was doing was preparing him for a future of customers that are bigger pains in the ass then I was."

"I love you," I replied, kissing her on the cheek as we reached the Jeep to find Jason just closing his phone shut "Did he get it?"

"Every last supply," Jason answered with a grin "He even put it all together at his dad's lab so it's all ready for tonight. This is gonna be the shit, bro."

"He even got all the stuff for that nitrogen compound?" I asked as Jason nodded "Incredible. They are going down big time. Come on."

Jason helped Kim and I load up the supplies before we all got back in the Jeep and headed back to the protected zone. We each grabbed as many bags as we could possibly carry and I prayed no one was in the hallway when we teleported back. Luckily, no one was and we ducked into our quarters, set the bags down and started tearing through them.

We were in the process of getting things ready when a loud, fast knock came at the door. I got up and ran to the door, opening it slightly as Billy pushed his way in with some huge machine. I had asked for as small as possible, apparently this was it.

"Is that gonna do it?" I asked and he nodded.

"Every last one of them," he added with a chuckle and then started helping us prepare.

If we got everything to work like we wanted it to, this was going to destroy any dumb water prank Zack and Rocky chose to do. They were going to go down, and they were going to go down hard.

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"Alright, who's up for shots!" Kim called out, filling up some glasses and carrying them over to us.

_Did you do it? _I asked and she nodded _Good. They won't know what hit them._

_That's the plan, Handsome_ she replied with a grin as she passed out vodka shots to everyone, making sure Rocky and Zack got special glasses.

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're probably sitting there going "They're gonna poison Rocky and Zack!" Kind of, but not quite.

You see, the cheap vodka had been diluted with enough water so that the rest of us could act like we were drinking and not get wasted while Rocky and Zack got trashed from the Everclear Kim gave them. Kim had informed Trini and Aisha of the plan and Jason and I had sworn Adam to secrecy over the coming events as well.

None of them, including Kim, cared that Zack and Rocky had gotten Jason and I that morning. They just wanted to see Rocky go down for what he did on the camping trip. If Zack was a casualty of that, then tough luck.

Kim had been feeding Rocky and Zack shots of Everclear for quite awhile and didn't stop until they were visibly drunk. Not drunk enough to pass out, but drunk enough to start saying stupid stuff. Rocky was the first to fall victim to the beginning of our plan.

"Hey Zack," he grumbled and looked over at Zack cockeyed "Wait, you're not Zack. Zack's black. Get out of here Adam."

"Man, shut up Rocky. You're drunk," Zack replied as he tried to push Rocky and fell off the couch onto the mess hall floor "Dude, you're feet smell like butt."

"Oh yeah, well your butt smells like feet," Rocky shot back, not realizing what he had said "And Jason's butt smells like feet. And Adam's butt smells like feet. And Kim's butt…I don't know what Kim's butt smells like. I always wanted to know, though."

Kim and Jason both had to restrain me from going after Rocky when he said that. They held me back and made sure to drive home that this was all in the spirit of the mission, that Rocky was drunk and that it would all be worth it in the end.

"You still owe me a bull ride, Mister," Kim whispered with a wink and a smile.

"You're right. Come on. Let's go now," I replied sarcastically and dramatically before slapping my forehead "Oh wait, I forgot. We have seven thousand freaking years for me to ride a damn mechanical bull. Focus, Kim. Is Billy almost done?"

"I think so. He sent me a text a few minutes ago saying he was close to being finished," she answered "He'll be back in a few minutes and then you, me and Jason will disappear for awhile."

"How come I was the Black Ranger?" Zack asked in a yell as he succumbed to the alcohol "I'm black. Is that why I was the Black Ranger? And how come Trini was the Yellow Ranger? Zordon was racist, man."

It seemed like every drunken statement coming from them ended up in someway being a personal attack on me. I know they were drunk and that they didn't know what they were saying but the Kim comment from Rocky and the one about Zordon from Zack were pushing my limits. Kim and Zordon were just things I didn't want to or like to joke about. Luckily, Billy slipped in next to us a few minutes later with confirmation that his part was done.

"Completely solid?" I asked and he nodded "Good. Kim, Jason, let's go. Billy, make sure you keep Rocky and Zack down here for at least thirty more minutes, if not more."

Billy nodded his head and stepped out to join the others as Kim, Jason and myself disappeared into the shadows of the hallway. As soon as we were clear we took off in a dead sprint, bypassing the elevators and going straight for the stairs. We made a quick pit stop in our room and grabbed the supplies before heading back down the hallway. Rocky had offered the pullout couch in his living room to Zack since there weren't any extra rooms. All that did was make everything a whole lot easier.

"Did Billy give you the key?" I asked as Kim held it up and unlocked the door.

Upon entering, we took a good couple minutes to admire Billy's handiwork. I have to admit for as much as I thought Billy wasn't cut out for the Club, he was definitely fitting right in. Between this and the Putties, he was giving the higher ranking members a run for their funny.

I laughed as Jason immediately set the bags down, retrieved two big cans of shaving cream and went for the walls. While Jason did his thing, Kim started tying some strings around the entrance to the room and I found a chair so I could attach something above the same door. I had Kim pass me a few things and went back to work and when I was done, Jason had just finished his shaving cream spree.

"What's left to do?" Jason asked as I went through my mental checklist.

"These," I said as I handed Jason and Kim a box and a bottle "Everywhere. And I mean, EVERYWHERE."

While Kim and Jason did there job, I grabbed some hooks and started putting them in the ceiling. Billy's work hung proudly all throughout the living room, a sight to be seen if there ever was one. This was working out way better than expected.

It took us another fifteen minutes or so before we had everything in place and ready to go. This was easily the most elaborate and thought out plan any member of the Club had ever had and I was proud to call it my own.

"They're gonna shit a purple monkey," Kim muttered as I put my arm around her and she slipped her hand into my back pocket, resting softly on my butt "Let's go see how they're doing."

Jason and I nodded in agreement and slipped out of the room quietly, making sure to lock it before going to rejoin the others. As we got into the elevator, I silently prayed that Billy had kept them intoxicated but awake. Everything we had done, well mostly everything, would have all been wasted if the pair had passed out.

When we got down there, everyone was still going strong and I watched Kim as she carried more drinks over to the "guests of honor." I saw Rocky reach up and whisper something in her ear and Kim whispered something back, putting her finger over her lips to keep him quiet but he didn't listen.

"Hey, Tommy!" he yelled as he turned around "Kim's butt smells like hoses and raw cherries. You know how I know that I know how I know that I know? Haha, you don't know 'cause you're not a loser. Wait, I mean, you are a loser. Zack, who's the loser? I don't care because Kim told me what her butt smelled like."

_Kim may have told you what her butt smells like, but I know what every pair of your boxer shorts look like when they're frozen and hanging from your ceiling._ I said silently as I stared bullets at the returning Blue Ranger.

"You're all losers as far as I'm concerned. But everyone's a loser when you're as cool as the Zackman," Zack said with a laugh as he tried to do a little dance move and ended up falling over the couch and onto the floor "Ouch. Uh, help?"

"Zack's a turtle, Zack's a turtle," Rocky called out as he clapped his hands loudly "Zack's a turtle. Zack's a turtle. Wanna know why Zack's a turtle?"

"Why is Zack a turtle, Rocky?" Kim asked impatiently with a roll of her eyes.

"Because once their fucked he's on his back," Rocky answered and then burst out laughing, ignoring the fact that he had obviously butchered the joke "Haha, I am soooooo funny, right guys? Wait, don't even answer that. I already know I'm funny."

_I hate stupid drunks_ I hissed at Kim _Why did we have to get them this shit faced? I think the seventh shot was about four too many._

_Oh, come on. You can't say this isn't funny. They're making complete asses out of themselves and don't even realize it. I told Rocky my butt smelled like roses and strawberries not hoses and raw cherries. Just enjoy the fact that they're easy to laugh at._

"Fucking stop," Jason hissed as he walked by us without stopping.

_Is it that obvious? _I asked as I realized the others were staring at us "What?! Can't a guy have a telepathic conversation with his girlfriend in peace?! Shut up, Rocky."

"But I didn't even say anything," he whined.

"It was preemptive," I replied with a smile "So shut up, Rocky."

I laughed as he crossed his arms angrily over his chest and let out a deep, angry grunt. God, I couldn't wait to see the look on his drunk face when he walked into his room and saw what we did.

"Fuck this, I'm going to bed," Rocky said adamantly and then went Cartman on us "Screw you guys, I'm going home. Talking poo is where I draw the line."

"Come on, Rocko. Let Tommy, Kim and I help you and Zack up to your rooms," Jason said encouragingly "We wouldn't want any thing bad happening to you guys on the walk up since you're drunk and everything."

"Thanks, pal," Zack interjected with a smile as he put a drunken arm around Jason and pointed at him with his free hand "That's why I love you. I fucked with you this morning and you're still my boy. You're still my boy, right?"

"Oh yeah, Zack. I'm still your boy," Jason answered as he patted him on the back and led him out of the mess hall "You still my boy?"

"You know it, bro," Zack replied as Kim and I were now struggling to keep Rocky from teetering and falling over.

With Rocky as extra cargo, it took us a few extra minutes to get them both but when we did, I caught the others as they ducked around the hall so they could see what was going on. Kim left me to hold Rocky as she pulled the key out of her pocket and unlocked the door for them before opening it to the darkness inside.

"Go ahead, boys," Kim enticed them "Go get a good night's sleep. You're going to have a killer hangover in the morning."

"Hoses and raw cherries," Rocky muttered as he walked past Kim "That's just weird."

Kim laughed and stared at Rocky's feet as his ankle hit the string and he went toppling face first to the floor. Zack saw what happened and tried to run after him, hitting the string and joining Rocky on the floor in a pile of feathers coated with honey. Rocky pushed himself up to his feet a few seconds later and came out with a face, and a mouth, full of feathers.

"Whaa da shii wath dat?" Rocky asked as he spit out feathers "Why is my face covered in feathers?"

"I don't know man," I lied "Why don't you turn on your light and see."

Rocky nodded his head and walked back to the doorway but remembered to stop in front of the string. I cringed as Rocky went for the light switch and grabbed what was the first of many tampons coated in ketchup. I was good with just doing the tampons but Kim had added the ketchup so you can't blame that one on me.

_Hit the switch_ I begged silently _Hit the damn switch._

He hit the switch. As the lights went on, the strings Kim had Gerry-rigged released a huge bucket that was completely filled with water balloon condoms. Zack had just gotten to his feet when the bucket tipped and fifty water filled condoms came falling down on top of him.

I felt like I was going to die from laughing so hard and both Kim and Jason were holding onto the wall to stay on their feet. The lights were on now though and it wouldn't be long before they saw everything else we had done.

Rocky and Zack's eyes widened in shock at they looked at the articles of clothing hanging from their ceiling. I wasn't sure what the technical term for it was but Billy knew what it was and he had gathered the materials to make the freezing agent that we had used on their undergarments. Every single pair of underwear, boxer shorts and even a few of Rocky's bikini style bottoms were hanging, frozen, from the ceiling.

Jason had taken the liberty of writing a few things on the wall in shaving cream and they ranged from things like "Die, Rocky. Die" to "1-3-6 4-Life" to "Zack sucks balls." There were a few more but I'm not sure you'd even want to know. Let's just say shaving cream genitalia and leave it at that.

It was all so damn perfect. Rocky and Zack had taken the bait hook, line and sinker and were paying for it in a major way. As if on cue, Billy hopped out from Rocky's bedroom with a digital camera and started snapping pictures of the two feather covered friends as they stared at every tampon that was stuck to their walls, every condom hanging taped to the furniture and every frozen piece of underwear hanging from the ceiling.

"FUCK ALL YOU GUYS!" Rocky yelled as he ran towards us and we ducked out of the room, going in different directions down the hallway as Zack joined in on the chase almost immediately.

Kim and I went in complete opposite directions with Rocky coming after me and Zack going in her direction. Somehow, Jason and Billy had been completely ignored and they were only going for myself and Kim. I ducked around the corner and as Rocky's footsteps got closer I waited until I knew he was just a few feet away before I stuck my arm out and he connected with it. Rocky went down hard but it was the only way I knew I could stop him. He was drunk and, after what we had just done to him, I didn't exactly expect him to listen to reason.

Rocky was out of it after the blow so I had to drag him back to the bedroom. As I passed Nathan's room I heard the door open as he poked his head out and looked at us.

"Haha, bird face," he laughed, pointed at Rocky and gave me a thumbs up "Good job, dad."

That was the first time I hadn't felt uncomfortable with Nathan calling me "dad" and it was also the first time he didn't immediately get embarrassed after saying it. We had just stepped into uncharted territory and it was happening in the middle of a huge event. As much as I wanted to stay behind with him, I had a body to drag so I thanked Nathan and directed him back to his room before continuing to drag Rocky down the hall.

When I finally made it back to his room, Kim already had Zack knocked out and asleep on the pull out couch. As one last hurrah, I picked Rocky up and laid him next to Zack in a rather precarious position. Kim added a little lipstick to the pair and Billy snapped a few more pictures before we called it quits for the evening.

"One," Jason said as he stuck his fist out like before.

"Three," I continued, touching my fist against his.

"Six," Billy finished with his own fist added.

"Seven?" Jason asked Kim apprehensively and she shook her head.

"Nope. I just wanted to get Rocky back," she said simply with a smile "Goodnight boys. Tommy, I think that breakfast in bed sounds good for tomorrow. Say, I don't know, nineish?'

"Whatever you say, Beautiful," I answered and then turned back to the guys "On three just like earlier, fellas. One, two, three…"

"One-Three-Six!" we all yelled together as we congratulated each other in the hallway on a job well done.

After talking for a few minutes, we said our goodnights and went back to our separate quarters. Kim was propped up in bed watching television when I walked into our bedroom.

"So what do you want for breakfast?" I asked as I crawled on top of Kim and kissed her "Maybe a little Tommy with your coffee and toast?"

"I don't know about with my coffee and toast, but I could go for some Tommy right now," she answered seductively and pulled me in for another long and passionate kiss.

One thing led to another and, well, you know where this is going but I digress. There were no Dragonzord comments this time, unfortunately. We just held each other tightly as we made love softly and with great passion; every movement, every thrust, every moan and every grunt connecting us in a way we had never experienced as kids. I was glad Kim and I hadn't gone this far in high school because I knew neither of us were ready but now, as adults, I was happy that we had taken that step.

We were on a different level together now and every moment with Kim, both intimate and not, were moments I cherished. As we fell asleep in each others arms that night, I couldn't help but feel guilty that Kim and I had had so much fun that day when something as serious as her ex trying to get custody of Nathan was going on.

_It's going to be okay. Get a hold of yourself, Tommy _I said silently _Nathan's going to be okay._

"Nathan's going to be okay," I muttered as I felt myself drift off.

Reaching over to Kim, I gave her one last kiss on the forehead before my eyes started to flutter and then close. Sleep followed shortly after and, in the morning, I would be glad for the time to rest. Business, as they say, was about to pick up.

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_That's another one down and in the books. Keep reading and keep reviewing guys. Reviews make authors happy and happy authors tend to write faster. I'll be honest, the lack of reviews as been disappointing and I've wanted to quit this altogether a couple times already. Luckily, for those of you who don't review, there are a couple people out there keeping me going and I've told you who you are so thank you. Enjoy._

_Cheers,_

_WK_

_P.S. For the Goldberg, Portman and Fulton comments, they're characters in "The Mighty Ducks" if you didn't know. Sorry if that little scene didn't make sense to some of you._


	20. Fight

Rocky and Zack were just quietly waiting and biding their time We could all see it in their eyes. When they woke up the morning after our little, okay huge, prank their screams echoed down the hallway and woke up every single one of us. We all ran out into the hallway to find the pair standing there in boxer shorts and covered in whiteout that Kim and I had dyed pink with the Pepto-Bismol.

Long after everyone had gone to bed that night, Kim and I snuck back into their room and painted them with the "pinkout," a creation Kim had come up with in college. It was our little way of getting them back as a couple and not a team, a bonding experience if you will. Needless to say, no one but Kim and I knew about the paint job and the expressions on the faces of the others were priceless.

"You'll die, Oliver," Zack fumed as we all tried not to laugh "And you too, Hart. Scott, Cranston, Park, Kwan, Campbell; you're all gonna get it. Remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. Let's go Rocky."

"Yeah, let's go Rocky," Rocky mimicked as he spun around, smacked right into the wall and grabbed his forehead "Oww. Still a little drunk."

Zack disappeared into the room and Rocky was on his trail but he stopped in the doorway. He turned around and smiled at us, giving us a quick thumbs up.

"Hell of a prank," Rocky said in praise to us "You're still gonna die but it that doesn't mean it wasn't a hell of a prank. Good call to whoever had the idea to get us shitfaced. I still can't believe Kim's butt smells like hoses and raw cherries though. You should probably get that looked at."

Rocky smiled sadistically and then closed the door before I could throw my shoe at him. For the next two days, the pair did nothing. Life went along normally but they would disappear at odd times without explanations and we all assumed they were planning something. Luckily for us though, Ivan finally returned but not like we were expecting.

He had gone back to Tengas, Oozemen and Goldar, simple battles that rarely even escalated to needing Zords. The others usually made short work of the goons while Jason, myself and occasionally Kim, did battle with Goldar. Just like our previous engagements with the armored Titan, they ended prematurely with Goldar disappearing before we could really give it to him.

Even though the battles were easy, we all knew that it was just the calm before the storm. Ivan, like Rocky and Zack, was just biding his time until he found some kind of opening to launch his big attack.

It was another two days, fourteen away from Zordon's predicted date, when Ivan decided to put his plan into motion at what he thought would be the perfect time. By launching an attack at one in the morning, Ivan figured he would be catching us off guard but it was a rarity for any of us to be asleep before two on most nights. Not only that, but an early morning attack also meant that there were going to be very few civilians out and about that we had to look out for. Ivan was playing to our advantage and he didn't even realize it.

We were all sitting in the common room watching a movie when the Command Center alarm started blaring throughout the building. While the others teleported away, Kim and I got Nathan set up in his play room with Alpha 6 before we teleported out and joined the other Rangers. When we got there, Zordon was already in the middle of saying his personal goodbyes to the rest of the team.

"ADAM, YOU HAVE FACED MANY DISAPPOINTMENTS IN YOUR TENURE AS A RANGER. I KNOW THAT THE POWERS DIDN'T ALWAYS TREAT YOU FAIRLY BUT YOU HAVE FOUGHT VALIANTLY THROUGH IT ALL," Zordon finished after having already spoken to the others.

"I may have been a frog and driven a minivan," Adam muttered through tears "But I was, and still am, proud to be a Ranger. Thank you for everything Zordon."

"RANGERS, IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS THAT I SAY GOODBYE TO YOU TODAY BUT I KNOW THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT BRAVELY IN MY ABSENCE. YOU ALL ARE NOT FRIENDS BUT SO MUCH MORE. LOOK AROUND AT YOU'RE FAMILY," Zordon began as we all turned to look at each other and smiled "LIKE ANY FAMILY YOU HAVE YOUR DIFFERENCES BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU ALL STILL CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. OTHER POWER TEAMS DO NOT SHARE THAT LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP, THAT SPECIAL BOND THAT YOU NINE SHARE WITH EACH OTHER EVERYDAY. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN CLOSE BECAUSE THE STRENGTH OF THE TEAM RESIDES NOT IN INDIVIDUALS BUT IN THE HEARTS OF TEAMMATES WHO CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER. I SAY GOODBYE TO YOU ALL NOW WITH THIS; I WILL WATCH OVER ALL OF YOU. THE POWER WILL PROTECT YOU, ALWAYS."

And just like how he disappeared on me, Zordon was gone again. Everyone had tears in their eyes now that Zordon had left, leaving behind the Alphas to maintain the Command Center who were just as sad that he was gone. Though they were robots, the Alphas had developed some sense of emotions after spending so much time around humans.

"Guys, look," Kim called out as we spun around and faced the Viewing Globe "Oh no."

Walking through the streets of the financial district were Ivan's two Ecto-Morphicons and they were tearing apart building after building. Even with no people inside of them, they were still causing a lot of damage, at least financially.

The sight was horrific. Smoke was pouring from the tops of building as flames billowed out the windows and littered the streets below. Cars were flipped over, light poles ripped from the ground and the few citizens out on the street running frantically in different directions.

"We have to do something," Rocky spoke up.

"The time is now, guys. We end this right now the way we talked about. Everyone ready?" I asked and they all nodded confirmations "Good. It's Morphin' Time!"

"Zeo Ranger Two, Yellow!" Aisha yelled.

"Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!" Rocky called out.

"Zeo Ranger Four, Green!" Adam added.

"Mastodon!" Zack began out calls.

"Pterodactyl!" Kim continued.

"Triceratops!" Billy followed.

"Sabertooth Tiger!" Trini called.

"Tyrannosaurus!" Jason bellowed.

"White Ranger Power!" I finished and then looked at the others "Stick to the plan guys. Don't be careless but don't be too careful either. One way or the other, this ends tonight!"

We all gave each other encouraging looks even though none us could see the expressions through our helmets. In a flash of multi-colored light we were gone and heading towards the financial district for, hopefully, out last fight with Ivan at least for awhile.

When we got there the Ecto-Morphicons had only ravaged the city further. We had always saved the innocents before but there were a few lifeless bodies laying throughout the streets. None of us had ever seen anything like that and it was a sickening sight to say the least.

"Not one more person dies on our watch," Jason said sternly and we all nodded in agreement "Not one more."

"Adam, you guys are up first," I interjected "Billy reconfigured everything. You'll have all five Zords to make the Megazord."

"That's good to hear," Adam muttered "We need Zeozord Power, now!"

The loud clanking of the chains binding the Zords could be heard even from the field of battle. As much as I wasn't comfortable with the Zeo Powers, I still smiled when my red Phoenix Zord came flying through the sky and the Zeo Megazord began to form.

"Our turn, guys. Remember, no Megazord" I said to them "We need Dinozord and Falconzord Power!"

We all jumped into our Zords, logging on and making sure every one was ready to go. The Zeo Megazord was going to focus on one of the machines while the rest of us, in our individual Zords, launched attacks from all different positions at the other. With Kim and I in the air Jason could focus on hand-to-hand combat in the Tyrannosaurus Zord while the others used long distance projectiles and attacks. The battle to defeat Ivan…had begun.

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"KIMBERLY!" I screamed as she flew out of her Zord and landed on the concrete below _Kim, baby. Talk to me. Are you okay?_

She wasn't responding. I had told her not to try and take Ivan by herself but she didn't listen. After nearly thirty minutes, the Zeo Megazord had destroyed one Ecto-Morphicon and Ivan had already bonded to the other like before when Kim tried to attack him.

Kim had gone flying in in her Pterodactyl Zord but Ivan was ready for it and he actually caught her Zord in the palm of his hand. With a flick of his wrist he sent it hurtling towards a building and Kim had ejected herself just before it hit the building and exploded.

_Kim you gotta say something. Say anything, Beautiful _I pleaded as I kept the Falconzord flying in a circle high over Ivan's head but she still wasn't talking"Fuck this shit. Everyone get out of my fucking way. I need Tigerzord Power, now!"

I flipped out of the cockpit of the Falconzord and landed squarely on the head of the Tigerzord as the Falconzord followed behind us. After hopping into the cockpit of the Tigerzord and making the conversion to Warrior Mode I looked down at Kim and realized it was all my fault.

I wanted to keep her on the sidelines because of the pregnancy but deep down I knew it would only start a fight and I hated when we fought. Now she was sprawled out on the concrete, not moving, and I could have at least tried to stop her from fighting.

_I'm so sorry, Beautiful._

"Keep him busy guys," I said over the intercom "I'm going to get him from behind."

The others gave me their confirmation that they understood and I began to position the Tigerzord where I needed it to be. From the cockpit of the Tigerzord I could still keep my connection with the Falconzord which was good because I was going to need it in a minute.

Tears filled my eyes as I looked down at Kim again and tried to prepare for what I was going to do. I was trying my best to maintain my composure but the image of Kim's lifeless body on the sidewalk made me feel sick. So sick in fact that I actually had to pull of my helmet and vomit in the cockpit of the Tigerzord, the foul stench only making it that much harder to concentrate on the task at hand.

I'll admit, every thought running through my head at that time was a selfish one. I didn't care about the team, the citizens of Angel Grove, anything or anyone else. All I wanted was revenge for what Ivan had done to Kim. With a flick of my wrist, the Tigerzord raised its' arm and opened it's hand as the Falconzord lowered itself into the open palm.

"Hey Ivan!" I yelled out as he spun around in surprise "Welcome to my nightmare, bitch!"

I threw my arm forward and, in one quick motion, the Tigerzord followed suit and threw the Falconzord right at Ivan's head. He didn't have time to move and the flying Zord connected with a squishing sound into the forehead of the Ivan/Ecto-Morphicon combination.

Purple ooze started to drip from Ivan's head as he reached up and tried to dislodge the Falconzord from his forehead but Jason had stepped in with his Zord and swept Ivan onto his back with Tyrannosaurus's tail. As the Tigerzord marched towards Ivan it pulled the sword from its' sheath and stood over the top of him.

"Time to die, Ivan," I sneered as I cocked my arm back and swung it forward, driving the sword right into Ivan's chest.

But after what he had done to Kim, it just wasn't enough for me. I kicked my feet out as the Tigerzord followed suit and drove kick after kick into Ivan's side. He was coughing up ooze now and I yanked the Falconzord from his forehead before ordering the Tigerzord to continuously punch him in the head.

Punch after punch landed against his face until I had literally beaten the snot out of him, leaving no head and just a puddle of purple slime. I kept punching the puddle until the Tyrannosaurus Zord and Zeo Megazord came over and pulled me off. I tried to get the Tigerzord free but, as strong as it was, it wasn't strong enough to fight off two huge Zords.

With a pissed off expression on my face, I stared at the headless body of Ivan Ooze as it started to convulse. Suddenly, and without warning, his body exploded and sent huge amounts of slime in every direction. Our Zords were plastered with the purple goo but Ivan was gone now.

Without hesitation, I jumped out of the Tigerzord and took off in a dead sprint to the other end of the street where Kim was still not moving. A few civilians had come over to inspect the damage now that the battle was over and it took every ounce of self-control in my body not to take Kim's helmet off in front of them.

I didn't even wait for the others to join me. Instead I just picked Kim up in my arms and teleported back to the Command Center. At that time, I could have cared less if every ounce of goop suddenly came back together and Ivan reformed. All I wanted to do was get Kim back to the safety of the Command Center.

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"How is she?" Jason asked cautiously as I shrugged my shoulders.

I had been sitting in the infirmary wing for close to three hours and spent most of that time holding Nathan as he cried against my chest until he fell asleep. The only information I had been given from Billy and the Alphas was that Kim was alive and that was all I needed to still have hope.

The others had returned shortly after I left the battlefield but most of them knew better than to try and talk to me. Billy, for obvious reasons, and Jason, for emotional support, were the only people I needed or wanted around me at that time.

Trini had come down once to bring Jason and I something to eat but food was the last thing on my mind. Trini was Kim's best friend and I felt terrible about asking her to leave but she had just given me a friendly nod and a warm hug before leaving.

Billy came in the room a little while later with a solemn expression on his face. As he opened his mouth I prayed he didn't say what I thought he was going to say.

"I've got good news and bad news, Tommy," Billy mumbled "Which do you want first."

"Bad," I muttered quietly.

"The bad news is that Kim went into cardiac arrest about fifteen minutes ago," Billy said softly "The good news is we stabilized her and she's fine now but she hasn't shown any signs of waking up anytime soon. Tommy, I think you and Jason should go back to your rooms. You're no good to her down here."

"I'm not leaving," Jason and I said in unison and then gave each other understanding smiles.

"Sorry, Billy. Kim's my sister," Jason began "I'm not going anywhere and neither is Tommy."

"Fine. But the Alphas and I ran some tests on Kim and there's something you need to know Tommy," Billy replied as I gave him a look that said I wanted answers "Tommy…Kim's pregnant."

I let out a sigh of relief and a slight chuckle when Billy told me the "news." Kim and I wanted to wait until everything had settled down before telling them so it was a shock to Billy and to Jason when I told them that we had already known for a couple weeks.

Jason tried to give me the runaround about letting a pregnant Kim go into battle but I wasn't in the mood to hear it. I knew I had made a mistake in not trying to sideline Kim but thinking about how I had messed up wasn't going to make Kim wake up any sooner.

"Can I see her?" I asked Billy with pleading eyes and he nodded his head "Thank you."

I got up from my seat and brushed past them as I entered Kim's room, seeing her powered down for the first time since the battle. She was covered from head to toe in dark purple bruises and there were scrapes and cuts all over her body.

Crying out in shock, I pulled a chair to the side of her bed and buried my face against the thin mattress. After a few minutes, I managed to regain my composure enough to raise my head and take her hands in my own.

_I know you won't respond if I talk but I know you can hear me when I do this. I know you're fighting right now, Beautiful, and I wish I could fight with you. I've been fighting for you my whole life and now there's nothing I can do to help you. Just keep fighting for me, Kim. I need you more than you'll ever know._

Tears continued to fall down my face as I stroked her hands gently. I prayed for something, anything, to let me know she could hear me but nothing was happening. Realizing that there was nothing I could do to help her, I resolved to rejoin Jason.

_Stop. Don't leave me_ Kim called out as I reached the door, spun around immediately and returned to my seat _I can't see you but I know you're there, my love. I'm so sorry for being careless. I should have listened to you. It seems like every time I make a decision it ends up hurting you._

_Dammit, Kim, don't talk like that. There was no way you could have known what Ivan was going to do. Just be glad you got out before the explosion_ I pleaded _We're gonna get through this, Kim. You'll wake up eventually and we'll walk away from this life. All being a Ranger has done is prevent me from being with you. I hate this and when you wake up I'm done for good. No secret missions or temporary comebacks. I'm finished._

_Don't say that stuff, Tommy. Being a Ranger, whether you realize it or not, is the best thing that has ever happened to either of us. The Rangers brought us together and we're together now because of them. You just need to be strong for me, Handsome. I'm fighting to wakeup but it's hard. I love you so much and the crane needs her falcon to fly. My body's weak and talking like this is hard for me. Can you do me a favor?_

_Anything, Kim. Just name it. I'll do whatever you need._

_I think there's another bed in the corner. Will you pull it next to mine and sleep next to me? I need you to hold me and keep me safe, Tommy._

Without replying, I ran to the other side of the room and rolled the bed right next to Kim's. I got down to my boxer shorts and climbed in as I gently maneuvered Kim onto her side. Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled her close and kissed the back of her neck as she drifted off in my arms. A few minutes later, sleep claimed me as well and the world went black as I faded away.

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_Seven days later…_

Kim had been out for seven days and still wasn't showing signs of waking up any time soon. We spoke telepathically from time to time and her physical appearance had gotten better but that was the only progress she was making.

As the days wore on, I found myself spending my days just trying to keep Nathan going and my nights sleeping with Kim in my arms. All her vital signs were fine but she just wouldn't open her eyes.

At least I knew she was peaceful. She had told me over and over that she wasn't in pain but it took a few days to convince me. The bruises were a faded green color now and almost gone as were the cuts and scrapes. In essence, she was just in a very deep sleep that she didn't want to wake up from.

The seven of us and Nathan were sitting in silence in the common room with a movie on when Billy burst into the room. He had sprinted up five flights of stairs and was clearly out of breath when he reached the common room.

"Tommy…quick…Kim…something's happening," he panted as he tried to regain his breath and I immediately jumped off the couch "Let's go."

I told Nathan to stay with Jason and then ran out of the room, following Billy down the five flights of stairs. We were taking the steps two and three at a time and Billy lost his footing on the last few steps and went tumbling to the floor. Thankfully, he let out a small groan and pushed himself to his feet as we burst into the infirmary to find Kim shaking violently.

"What's going on?" I asked in horror "What's happening to her."

"She's trying to wakeup," Billy answered calmly "Her vitals are spiking and she's been mumbling something about a fight for the last ten minutes. I've tried to stabilize her but nothing seems to be working."

_Kim can you hear me, sweetheart?_

_Tommy is that you? I'm so scared right now. I don't know what's going on. One minute everything was black and then all these images started to rush into my head._

_What are you seeing, Kim?_

_Bad things. All the times I hurt you. Saying goodbye in the Command Center, you getting the letter at the Youth Center, you at the park throwing rocks into the lake after you got it, Murianthis. Tommy it's awful._

_You have to block that stuff out, Beautiful. Think about the happy times. You have to try and see the good we had then and have now. Come on, Kim. Fight it, baby._

_I'm trying Tommy. I see myself running into the Youth Center to tell the others that you sent me a letter saying you were coming home. You just took off your helmet and I fainted. God, why do I always have to faint?_

_Come on, Kim. You're not spiking anymore. Keep it up you're doing great._

_It's getting better. Running through the park together before we fought that purse monster. The fireworks celebration after we beat Ivan the first time. Kissing under the mistletoe when I came back for Christmas. They were such great memories._

_And we'll have many more, I promise. We've had our bad times but there was so much more good then bad._

Suddenly, the shaking stopped and her vitals all leveled off normally. I looked at Billy and ran to her side as her mouth opened and shut slowly. She was trying to say something.

"I'm here Kim. Come on, Beautiful," I pleaded "You're doing great. Whatever you're doing is working so keep it up."

"Tommy?" Kim groaned as her eyes started to flutter "Tommy? Is that you?"

"In the flesh," I answered with a smile "You're almost there sweetie. Just keep fighting."

Her eyes fluttered a little more and then she slowly blinked a few times before opening her eyes and staring at the white ceiling. I stood up from my chair and ran over to Billy, pulling him into a bear hug as tears fell down my face.

"Thank you so much, Billy," I muttered through the tears as he patted my back awkwardly and I set him down.

"Tommy, I didn't do anything but run some tests and give you my thoughts," Billy explained "Kim woke up because of you, not because of me. Now don't you have someone else you'd rather talk to?"

I nodded my head and clasped him on the shoulder, giving him a thankful look before going back to Kim. Billy quietly exited the room as Kim threw her arms around my neck and held on tightly. We were both crying as we held on to each other, refusing to let the other one go.

We stayed like that for close to five minutes until we, begrudgingly, let each other go. Kim and I both had huge smiles on her face and I lowered my head as our lips brushed against each other softly.

Out of nowhere, Nathan came sprinting into the room and jumped into my outstretched arms. Kim smiled happily at the little family we had become as the thought of the new baby crept into both our minds.

"Is the baby okay?" Kim asked quietly and I nodded my head.

I had made sure Billy ran extensive tests to make sure nothing had happened and that our unborn child was still okay. With Kim out of commission, I was a nervous wreck. If something had happened to the baby…well I didn't even want to think about how I would have reacted to that. Just the thought of what could have happened scared the crap out of me.

"Everything's fine, sweetheart. Billy said the baby was perfectly okay," I answered reassuringly "Nathan here has been waiting for a week to talk to you."

"Come here, big guy," Kim said with a grin and outstretched arms as I handed Nathan off to her and she hugged him tightly "I missed you so much, Nathan. Mommy loves you so much."

"I love you too, Mom," Nathan replied as Kim kissed him on the forehead "Dad loves you a lot too. He spent every night in here with you saying that you had to get better."

_Since when does he call you dad?_ Kim asked in surprise.

_Since about a week ago._

_Tommy, how long was I out?_

_A little over seven days_ I answered as I looked at my watch_ Why?_

"The hearing is in three days, Tommy!" Kim yelled as she tried to get up "What are we going to do? I haven't met with the lawyer or done anything else."

"Kim, it's okay. I took care of everything," I said reassuringly "I talked to Goldstein a few days ago and let him know that you wanted full custody, me appointed as a legal guardian and that we wouldn't settle for anything else. Anton called and said Goldstein thinks we have a good chance at winning. Did you really think I was going to just let everything go to hell in a hand basket?"

"Oooh, Dad said a bad word," Nathan interjected "Every time Mom says a bad word she has to put a quarter in a jar. If I do all my chores I get the all the quarters. You have to put a quarter in the jar, Dad."

"I will as soon as we get home," I promised him with a smile "Nathan, I think you're mom and I need to talk to you about something."

_Tommy are you sure you want to do this right now?_ Kim asked.

_Yep. He needs to know what's going on. I brought him with me to meet Goldstein so he has an idea of what's happening but I didn't go into detail. I thought it would be better if he heard it from both of us._

_So smart_ she teased _I guess that's why I love you._

"Nathan, remember how I told you about your dad in Florida?" Kim asked out loud as Nathan nodded "Well, he thinks he should get to spend time with you now and he wants something called 'partial custody.' That's what happens sometimes when moms and dads who aren't together each want to be with their kids"

"But he's not my dad. Tommy's my dad!" Nathan argued, causing my eyes to get teary again "I don't want to go to Florida. I want to live with my parents not that asshole."

"Nathan Thomas, where did you learn that word?" Kim snapped as we both tried to conceal smiles "If Uncle Jason taught you it I'm gonna…I'm gonna…I'm gonna do something and he won't like it."

"Uncle Jason didn't teach me, you did," Nathan exclaimed as Kim and I burst into laughter "Now I get to put a quarter in the jar!"

"Okay buddy," I said with a laugh "But we still need to talk to you. Your mom and I want you to know that we love you very much and that we don't want you to go to Florida either. Now, the judge is probably going to ask you to answer some questions about us as a family and your real dad in Florida. He'll ask you if we're good parents, if you love us and stuff like that. You'll just have to answer his questions honestly, okay?"

"Okay," Nathan answered "I'm going to go play _Robot Space Wars_ with Alpha now. He still thinks he can beat me. What an asshole."

Kim tried to reach out for Nathan but he jumped off the bed and ran out of the room giggling before Kim could get a hold of him. When he were sure he was gone, we both burst into laughter at Nathan's new word. Hearing a five year-old refer to his jerkoff dad and a robot as "assholes" was actually pretty funny.

"Are you feeling good enough to see the others?" I asked and Kim nodded slightly "Okay, I'll go get them. I'll be right back."

I gave Kim a quick kiss goodbye and then jogged out of the room for the others. As I turned the corner into the hallway, they were all standing there waiting with huge smiles on their faces. Billy had obviously gotten to them already and they were just waiting for me to come get them.

Together, we walked back in to Kim's room as they all greeted her with smiles and warm hugs. Between defeating Ivan and Kim waking up, we had won two battles in a little over a week but there was still one fight left to finish. As the others talked with Kim, I tried to mentally prepare myself for what could possibly be the toughest of the three battles.

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_20 down, ladies and gents. Sorry this one was a little shorter than my last few chapters but I wanted to get the battle with Ivan out of the way. The whole thing with Ivan was never a plan of mine in the beginning but I thought the story was getting boring with just pranks and jokes and no action so I changed directions for a few chapters. Kim going comatose wasn't planned either but it just seemed to work at the time. A couple of you have either left reviews or sent me PM's for the oneshot I wrote called _Don't Ask Me To Be Friends_ and I get the feeling that there's more to that story that you want to see. So for those of you who have read the story and have an opinion, I need to know what you want. I can either stay on track with this story and have chapters out every couple of nights like normal or I can space this story out more and write additional chapters for _DAMTBF_. I don't care either way. I can leave _DAMTBF_ like it is and feel satisfied with it as just a oneshot. The ball is in your court folks. You know how to get a hold of me. As always, reviews are definitely appreciated and I look forward to talking to you again soon._

_Cheers,_

_WK_


	21. What Just Happened?

_Okay so let me start by saying I have no idea what a custody hearing looks like, how long they last, how they go or anything to do with them. I'm writing from complete ignorance here so if things aren't totally right, I apologize in advance but let me know and if I can, I'll fix any mistakes I may and probably will make. Also, this one gets a little intense towards the end._

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Kim let out a loud groan as our alarm clock went off at seven and I came out from the bathroom to greet her. I had already showered and was wearing a pair of black slacks with matching shoes and nothing else when I heard her start to cry. She was laying in bed, squeezing her pillow tightly and crying into it.

"Beautiful, what's the matter?" I asked softly as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"I-I'm so a-a-af-fraid," Kim stammered in between sobs "Wh-what happens if they g-give Alex p-p-partial custody?"

"They won't Kim," I answered reassuringly, stroking the back of her head gently "Nathan's not going anywhere. We just have to present a unified front and show the judge that we're a loving family and that Nathan belongs with us. I heard we have a female judge too so that's a plus."

"How can you be so confident?" Kim asked as she wiped at her eyes "This could end up being the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

"What did Zordon say before he left, Kim? The power will always protect us," I answered calmly "You know that he's watching over us and that he won't let anything happen to us. Now come on. We still have to get Nathan ready and Jason's driving over with Trini in just over an hour."

"Why are they coming?" Kim questioned.

"Because they love us and want to be there for support," I replied and Kim nodded as she rolled out of bed slowly "I even ironed your skirt and blouse for you. They're hanging up on the rack in the bathroom."

"Thank you, Tommy," Kim said with a slight smile as she kissed me on the cheek "Is Nathan up yet?"

"He's been downstairs watching cartoons since five a.m.," I answered "You go get ready, I'll finish getting dressed and then go help Nathan, okay?"

Kim nodded and gave me a quick kiss before heading for the bathroom. Everything had been so good for us recently and, while I wanted to show Kim that I was confident, I was just as scared as her that our luck may be running out. Shaking the negative thought from my head, I put on my shirt and tie, leaving the suit jacket hanging on the back of the door.

Nathan was downstairs eating a bowl of cereal when I entered the living room. With Ivan gone, the three of us had moved back to Kim's house the day after she woke up. Saying goodbye to the Alphas had been tough on Nathan. He had spent most of his time in the Command Center with Alpha 6 and the pair had actually become fairly good friends.

Kim and I promised that we would take him back for visits but that didn't stop him from crying when it came time to say goodbye. If the others had been staying behind, we might have done the same but they were all preparing to leave as well.

With everything that had happened recently and over the summer, the nine of us had grown closer once again. It wasn't like high school where we saw each other non-stop but when the final battle was over, we all promised to keep in better touch.

Trini had given up on Sacramento and was moving in with Jason relatively soon. Aisha and Adam were getting serious and, even though there was hundreds of miles between them, Adam was actually thinking about moving into a new place with her. In the event that Adam did move out, Rocky had already scored a new roommate, Zack.

Zack had made a lot of money in record production and had been wanting to start his own record label. With all of us reunited again, he realized he had no reason not to do it. He had already copyrighted the name "Mastodon Records" and found a nice piece of property outside of Stone Canyon so it was just a matter of time until the building was completed.

With Trini moving in with Jason, Zack probably going to Rocky's and Adam and Aisha moving in together, al of us were going to be a lot closer. Billy had even applied for a transfer from Turtle Cove to the NASADA complex in Angel Grove. Being Rangers again had drawn us all back together and it was a great feeling knowing that everyone was going to be living so close again.

When Nathan had finished his breakfast, I went with him into his room and helped him get ready for the hearing. Kim had found a black suit that fit him perfectly and, I admit, he looked damn cute in the suit with his wavy brown hair parted to the side.

In the half hour it took to get Nathan all ready to go all Kim had managed to accomplish was a shower. Nathan and I were on the couch watching TV and, even from downstairs, we could hear her swearing at everything imaginable. Every time she swore, Nathan made a tally mark in the back of a coloring book to remember how many quarters Kim owed the jar.

"Hey, Nathan, remember when I said you have to answer all the judges questions honestly?" I asked and he nodded "Well, I need to take that back. If she asks you what your mom and I do for jobs you can not, under any circumstances, tell her that we were Power Rangers."

"I know that. I'm not an asshole like my real dad," Nathan answered with a grin as I tried to conceal my smile.

Kim was still pacing around frantically when Jason and Trini arrived at eight-thirty. The hearing started at nine-thirty and it was at least a twenty minute drive to the courthouse. Finally, at ten to nine, we managed to get out of the house and pile into Jason's Suburban.

As we drove, I thought about everything that was happening and couldn't believe that Alex was actually flying all the way to California to fight for a child he had never shown any interest in before. Of course, I didn't mention my feelings to Kim but it just didn't make any sense to me. Why would he want to see Nathan after five years of not even acknowledging his existence?

The drive to the courthouse was definitely awkward and we all sat in silence, no one wanting to say anything that could potentially upset Kim even more. She had that look in her eyes that said she just didn't want to be bothered so, aside from holding her hand, I left her alone. Even if she didn't want verbal support, holding her hand at least showed her that I was there for her and she had acknowledged my action with a smile and a mumbled "thank you."

When we got to the courthouse we had to go through metal detectors and get padded down before we were actually allowed inside. Goldstein was already waiting for us in the hallway and greeted us with warm smiles before I took a quick detour with Nathan so he could use the restroom.

I had my head down because I was talking to him and didn't see the guy coming out of the restroom. He smacked right into me and fell to the ground as I immediately let go of Nathan and offered him a hand to get back on his feet.

"Oh man, I'm sorry," I said to him as he took my hand and I helped him up "You okay?"

"Fine. Don't worry about it," he grumbled and brushed past me rudely.

The guy was wearing a navy blue suit that looked like he had slept in it and, even though I had knocked him down, was a complete jerk about what happened. I rolled my eyes in disgust and then took Nathan into the restroom. When he was finished I made sure he washed his hands and then led him into the courtroom where Kim was sitting and chatting quietly with Goldstein.

As a strategic move to show that we both were involved with Nathan, Goldstein suggested sitting him between Kim and I. Kim and I both agreed it was a good idea but, as Nathan was in the process of switching seats with Kim, _he_ showed up.

"Hey Kim," a voice called from behind as Kim spun around quickly, a look of shock, hurt and anger on her face.

There was a man standing there with a smug grin on his face and wearing a navy blue suit that looked like it had been slept in. Instantly it clicked and I immediately stood up to get in his face but Kim grabbed me and pulled me back into my seat. I would have beaten the crap out of him worse than I had done to Ivan but no good could have come from it and I was thankful that Kim had restrained me.

"Now, now. That's no way to treat the person you just barreled over in the pisser now is it?" he asked with a sneer and I clenched my fists tightly.

"I think you should leave now before there's a problem Mr. Johnston," Goldstein interrupted, causing Alex to roll his eyes in amusement "I'm sure Judge Adamson would just love to hear how you tried to intimidate a five year-old."

Anton was right. This guy was good. Damn good. He was going into his bag of tricks before the hearing had even started.

"Mommy, who's that man?" Nathan asked as Kim tried to fight back tears.

"You must be Nathan," he said with a smile and extended his hand to Nathan "I'm Alex. Your dad."

"You're not my dad. Tommy's my dad," Nathan replied "You're just an a…"

"Nathan stop!" I quickly interjected, cutting him off "You don't have to say anything to him. Just sit here quietly with your mom and I, okay?"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Alex asked with a look of mock anger on his face. I could tell he was a bad actor and if the judge didn't see right through his charades then there was something seriously wrong with her. "You have no right to tell my son not to speak to me."

"Oh I'll tell you who the hell I am," I shot back angrily "I'm the man who actually stepped up and took a place in Nathan's life. He's coming home with us whether you like it or not."

"Tommy, now is the time to stop," Goldstein hissed and then turned to look at Alex "I believe your counsel has arrived. You know, Mr. Johnston, your lawyer and I are golfing buddies. I think I'm going to go have a little chat with him about you verbally assaulting my clients, trying to intimidate them and causing severe emotional trauma to Kimberly."

While Kim wasn't experiencing severe emotional trauma, she was struggling to fight back the tears that were rapidly filling her eyes. But if Goldstein could really use that as a way to at least get Alex to leave, then I was all for it. Now I knew exactly what Anton meant when he said Goldstein would go to any length to keep Nathan with us. He knew exactly what he was doing and was playing the game like a pro.

"That won't be necessary," Alex grumbled as he turned to walk away and then looked back at us "See you soon, Nathan."

I stood up again but this time Kim, Goldstein and Nathan all grabbed me at once. Man, I wanted to annihilate that guy right there in front of everyone.

_Just ignore him, Tommy. I'm not going to acknowledge him and I don't want you to either. Don't play into his games. I need you here with me not locked up because you beat up a worthless piece of shit._

_I know. I'm sorry. Just look at him, though. It's like he thinks he's already won. It's not even confidence, just cockiness._

_He's a jackass, Tommy. Nothing more and nothing less but you can't let him get to you._

"All rise for the honorable Michelle Adamson!" the bailiff called out, snapping us from out conversation "Docket Number 1876, Kimberly Hart vs. Alex Johnston in regards to the custody of their child, Nathan Thomas Hart."

Kim and I looked at each other nervously as we all stood up and the judge walked in. Goldstein was convinced we had an advantage with a female judge and I was right there with him. Women think with their hearts and, if we showed that we were a secure family, odds were that the judge was going to go with that instead of forcing a five year-old to travel across the country multiple times a year.

As the judge sat down and we followed suit, I looked over at Alex and saw that he didn't seem nervous at all. But why should he have been? It wasn't like he had anything to lose. He hadn't been involved with Nathan at all so if he didn't get partial custody things weren't going to change in his life like they would in ours if he got what he wanted. The idea of losing Nathan, even partially, scared me more than I was willing to admit. In just a few months he had become my son and I loved him as if he was my own.

I turned back to look at Jason and Trini who both gave me encouraging and supportive smiles. With them there for support I really felt better about the imminent proceedings. Reaching across Nathan, I grabbed Kim's hand and kissed it softly as Judge Adamson cleared her throat loudly.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said loudly as she flipped through some paperwork "Mr. Johnston, am I really to believe that you spent five years knowing that you had a child, wanted nothing to do with him and now expect to split custody with the mother?"

"Your honor, my client has spent the last five years hating himself for not trying to be with his son. In meetings prior to the decision to take this battle to court, Alex expressed to me on numerous occasions that he wanted to be with his son but was afraid Ms. Hart would not allow him to see the boy," Alex's lawyer, John Yang, answered with a serious expression as Kim scoffed and rolled her eyes "My client wants nothing more than to be a loving parent and play a role in the life of the son he helped create. Nothing more and nothing less."

"I don't like this but let's get on with it," the judge replied "The first person I want to hear from is Thomas James Oliver. Mr. Oliver, would you please take the stand?"

I gave Kim an encouraging smile as I stood up from my chair and approached the stand. After swearing to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, I took my seat and Goldstein got out of his. For the next twenty minutes he asked me questions about my relationship with Kim, my relationship with Nathan and a bunch of simple "fluff" questions that really made me seem like a loving father, which I was. After Goldstein was done, Alex's lawyer got up from his seat and approached the stand.

"Mr. Oliver, how long have you known Ms. Hart?" he asked.

"Almost twelve years," I answered.

"And in that time have you ever had any serious problems with Ms. Hart?" he asked again as I shook my head.

"Objection. Relevance?" Goldstein interjected as I buried my head to conceal my smile.

"Withdrawn," he replied before the judge could say anything "Mr. Oliver, would you say that you love Nathan?"

"Absolutely," I answered instantly, lighting up inside as Nathan smiled happily "Without a doubt. He and his mom are the most important people in my life. I'd do anything for either one of them."

"Spoken like a great father," he said softly "But how can you say that you love Nathan when you've only known him for just over four months? Isn't it a little hard to develop those feelings in such a short time? If he was your son, I'd understand but…"

"He is my son," I interrupted angrily "He may not be my blood but I'm more of his father then that guy will ever be."

"Such an angry reaction for such a simple question," he replied with a smile "I have no more questions for you Mr. Oliver."

"Thank you, Mr. Oliver," the judge interjected "You may step down, now."

I nodded my head politely and stepped down from the stand, making sure to glare at Alex as I walked by his table. He still had that damn smirk on his face and I wanted nothing more than to slap it off him but the thought of Nathan having to live with him kept me from doing anything stupid.

Two long hours passed by as Goldstein and Alex's lawyer took turns asking questions to Kim, and Nathan. When Alex's lawyer grilled them, I realized that he had let me off the hook easier, figuring me to be the least emotionally attached out of the three of us which was a huge mistake on his part.

He could have gotten me to break eventually but Kim…Kim was strong as a rock. Yang tried all kinds of underhanded tactics which ended in more than a few objections from Goldstein but Kim kept her composure and answered his questions with nothing more than a relaxed smile on her face.

Alex thought he had some sort of advantage but I could tell that Kim's ability to maintain her composure was slowly making him more and more nervous. Then there was Nathan. I was so proud of him as he took the stand and promised to tell the truth and kept his promise. Alex's lawyer tried to bait him and get Nathan to say something negative about Kim or myself but Nathan refused to fall for it which only flustered Alex even more.

When the two lawyers had finally finished with Kim and Nathan, Alex took the stand as his lawyer questioned him first. They went with the sympathy approach, saying that he wanted to be there for Nathan but didn't think Kim would let him. The questions Yang asked Alex were easier than the questions Goldstein had asked me and I got a sick feeling in my stomach every time Alex spoke and put that stupid grin on his face.

Eventually, Yang had asked Alex every soft question in the book and it was Goldstein's turn to take a shot at him. If I had known how good this guy really was before I called Anton, I would have paid just to watch him question Alex.

"Mr. Johnston, let me ask you a question," Goldstein muttered with a grin "Can you tell me where you were and what you did on November 14, 2000?"

"I, uh….I don't know. It was over five years ago," Alex mumbled "How am I supposed to remember what happened that long ago?"

"I figured you wouldn't remember so I have the answer for you. Allow me to paint a picture for you," Goldstein began "It's a rainy November day in Florida, Miami to be exact and you're girlfriend at the time, and my client, told you that she was pregnant with your child. Do you recall how you reacted to the news, Mr. Johnston? Wait, don't answer that. I can do it for you. You told my client that you would pay child support but that you wanted nothing to do with raising a child. Now, where were you on May 19, 2001? Or do you not remember?"

"Objection your honor!" Yang interjected "I don't see any relevance in this line of questioning."

"Your honor, I promise that I can justify my questions," Goldstein said calmly as the judge overruled the objection "May 19, 2001 was the day Nathan was born and, according to surveillance tapes pulled from the Courtyard Marriot on Ocean Drive, while my client was giving birth to your son you spent the whole day in your room with a blonde woman. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and a few connections I have in Miami, I was given the woman's name and found out that she had been a prostitute during the time you spent with her. You have claimed to be a misunderstood man who just wants the chance to help raise his son yet you spent the day of his birth in a hotel with a hooker. How can you claim that you can be a good father to Nathan when you spend your time running around with prostitutes?"

"Objection again!" Yang called out "He's badgering my client."

"I agree," the judge relented after thinking about it for a few moments "Mr. Goldstein you've made your point so either move on to a new line of questioning or let Mr. Johnston step down."

"No further questions your honor," Goldstein conceded with a victorious grin.

Like Anton had said, he would cross lines but it was with good intentions in mind. Alex was clearly flustered by the whole exchange and looked extremely grateful when he was allowed to step down and return to his seat.

"I've heard all I need to hear from the adults involved in this but there is more I'd like to hear from Nathan," the judge said softly "Ms. Hart, I need to speak with Nathan in my chambers now. We will have a thirty minute recess and, when we return, I will give you my decision."

Kim nodded her head as she whispered a few things to Nathan and gave him a hug. I gave him a hug as well and assured him that everything would be okay as we walked with him to the judge. As we gave Nathan to the woman, I blinked back a few tears and she gave me a soft smile. Later, Jason would tell me that she had a slight glimmer in her eyes as she took Nathan from us and led him into her chambers.

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"There are times where, as a judge, I am forced to make tough decisions regarding the future of children with separated parents. I have seen the turbulence of a child who is forced to go in between two household especially when the child doesn't want to. This wasn't one of those times," Judge Adamson said as Kim and I let out gasps "As I spoke with Nathan privately, I learned quite a few things about his mother and Mr. Oliver. I have no doubt in my mind that Ms. Hart and Mr. Oliver are both capable and loving parents and that granting joint custody to Ms. Hart and Mr. Johnston would cause more damage than good for Nathan. With that being said, I hereby grant full custody of the child in question, Nathan Thomas Hart, to his mother, Kimberly Ann Hart. This court is adjourned."

"YES!" I yelled happily as I threw my arms around Kim "We did it, Beautiful. We really did it. Nathan's coming home!"

Kim had tears running down her face and I held on to her tightly as Goldstein gave me a soft smile. Still holding on to Kim, I turned my attention to the door and found Anton standing there with a proud smile on his face. He nodded his head towards me and I returned the gesture as he slipped out of the courtroom and we were bum rushed by Jason and Trini.

Alex looked like someone had just run over his dog as he stared at us angrily. I looked back at him and gave him that same stupid smirk that he had given me before he turned and stormed out of the courtroom with his lawyer following behind him.

The five of us celebrated in the middle of the courtroom, exchanging hugs and smiles at what had just happened. I had tears in my eyes when I picked up Nathan and realized that he was going to be my son and no one could try and stop it now. Kissing him on the cheek, I held him tightly and swung him back and forth as the tears fell down my face.

"Come on guys," Jason said with a smile "This calls for a celebration. I'm buying pizza for all of us."

We all smiled and nodded our heads as we walked out of the courtroom together. As we exited the courthouse, Alex was standing outside and I caught his eyes. I was surprised when he gave me the smirk again as if he knew something that we didn't. I shook it off but, in retrospect, I wish I hadn't.

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We got back to the house from dinner around five and Kim invited Jason and Trini in but they insisted that this was our time to celebrate as a family and left us after dropping us off. After about an hour of sitting in the house and talking I decided that I was going to go to the gym and work off some of the anger I was still feeling towards Alex.

Kim agreed that it was a good idea so I threw on some shorts, a tee shirt and running shoes and began the three mile run to the gym. The idea of driving to go workout never made sense to me and, if it was at all possible, I tried to make it a point to run.

I got in a good two-hour workout and left the gym no longer angry at Alex. In fact, I wasn't even thinking about Alex. He was the farthest thing from my mind when he should have been the closest.

"I just want to see my son!" I heard Alex yelling as I approached the house.

He was standing at the front door and yelling at Kim who was refusing to let him in the house to see Nathan. I stood back and watched for a few seconds, staying out of sight because I wanted to let Kim handle it on her own. I was liable to snap his neck like a twig and going to jail wasn't high on priority list especially after the judge told us she was going to allow us to keep Nathan full time. Being a loving father and, future, husband were the only things I cared about and I wasn't about to jeopardize what we had worked so hard to keep.

_Stay back Tommy. This is my battle_ Kim said to me telepathically. Her control over her abilities must have suddenly gotten much better because I was completely out of sight which meant she was able to sense that I was there without having to actually see me.

_Where's Nathan?_ I asked in concern.

_Upstairs. I sent him to his room and made him promise to stay up there when I saw Alex's car in the driveway. He's fine._

I was content to sit back and let her handle the fight as long as it stayed a verbal confrontation but if Alex even so much as attempted to do anything to her physically, I was going to get involved whether Kim liked it or not. They were yelling back and forth about Nathan when Alex suddenly raised his arm and smacked Kim in the face, knocking her to the floor.

Immediately, I took off in a dead sprint up the driveway and tackled Alex into the house. After rolling onto my feet I grabbed him by his shirt collar and tossed him out the door as I followed behind him, kicking him in the side as hard and as many times as I could manage.

With every kick his body moved further down the walkway until he was sprawled out on the lawn. He was no longer moving and I still wanted to continue my assault but, for some reason, I thought about what Zordon would think of my actions and turned away from him to check on Kim. She was standing again and I was halfway to her when she let out a scream and I heard a loud bang which was the precursor to a sudden pain in my left thigh.

I went down immediately, yelling in pain as I realized that I had been shot. Kim was still screaming but she wasn't moving at all. At that moment I was sure Alex was going to shoot me again and make it count but when I rolled over to face him, he wasn't even looking at me.

Alex was staring right at Kim with tears running down his face. With shaking hands he pointed the gun at Kim and I saw the world flash in front of my eyes.

"This is all your fault! All your goddamn fault!" Alex yelled "All I wanted was to be in my son's life. I didn't want to spend all that time away from him. There's so much that you don't even understand. I hate you, Kimberly. I fucking hate you for what you did. Time to say goodbye."

"NO!" Kim screamed as Alex turned the gun on himself and fired a single shot into the side of his head and fell to the ground.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered as I fought through the pain and got on my feet before making my way to Alex as fast as I could but he was gone.

Kim was standing behind me, staring at Alex's dead body and crying loudly. I pulled her into a tight hug, turning her away from it as I looked at the door and saw Nathan standing there. He must have heard the shots and Kim screaming because he was standing in the doorway with a confused expression on his face.

"Nathan! Get back in the house!" I yelled at him.

It was the first time I had ever even raised my voice at him and the tears slowly filling his eyes told me that I had hurt his feelings. I felt terrible but there was no way in hell I was going to let him see his biological father dead, on our front lawn no less. I pointed a stern finger at him and told him to go inside and call 9-1-1 when I felt my leg give out and I went down again.

The pain was too much and I couldn't manage to get myself back on my feet again. Someone in the neighborhood must have heard gunshots because the wailing sound of approaching police sirens was quickly growing closer.

Blood was pouring from my leg and I could tell that Kim had no clue about what she should do so I ripped my shirt off and made my best makeshift tourniquet to try and at least slow the bleeding down. She stood there shaking, changing her gaze from Alex to Nathan to me repeatedly as the first couple police cars arrived on the scene. Immediately, two officers hopped out of two separate vehicles and ran over to where I was laying on the grass.

"What the hell happened?" one asked as another went to check on Alex.

"He shot me," I groaned in immense pain "Then shot himself. He hit my fiancée and I started a fight with him. When I walked away he shot me in the leg."

"Oh man," he muttered "Don't worry son, there's an ambulance on the way. Just sit back and one of us will ride with you to get an official statement. Do you mind if I speak with your fiancée?

I was about to shake my head and say that I didn't when Nathan came running at me and threw his arms around my neck. The thought of possibly being killed and losing him made me want to cry but I stayed strong for him and held the tears back as I held onto Nathan, refusing to let him go. Kim saw us and ran over to where we were on the lawn before joining in on the hug. She was crying loudly and the officer gave me an understanding smile as I nodded my head in appreciation and he walked over to his partner.

"What just happened?" Kim asked, still in shock.

"It's okay, Beautiful," I answered as she buried her face in my chest "It's over now. He took the easy way out but he'll never hurt another hair on your head."

Nathan had no idea what had just happened. All he knew was that I was hurt and the fact that he cared so much even after I had yelled at him meant so much to me. As I hugged them both I flashbacked to what had just transpired and started to cry harder. It could have just as easily been me in Alex's position, sprawled out on the grass with a bullet hole in my head and realizing that made me sick to my stomach.

Without notice, I pushed them both off me and rolled over as I vomited violently on to the lawn. As the first ambulance pulled up I continued to get sick. After five minutes of constant vomiting, it finally settled down and the medics wheeled over a stretcher for me but I shook my head and refused it vehemently. With some help from them I was able to get to my feet and muster enough strength to limp towards the ambulance with Kim and Nathan following behind me.

The second ambulance pulled up just as they got me on my feet and as I climbed in the vehicle I looked towards the lawn to see the medics put a white sheet over Alex's body. One of the medics who was with me said something to Kim about her and Nathan not being able to ride in the ambulance with me but neither of us had the strength to try and argue with him.

"Just stay here with Nathan, Kim. You can't do anything at the hospital," I muttered as she nodded her head and hugged me tightly "Call Jason for me, please. Tell him I'm going to need a ride home from the hospital. If he asks you why just tell try and make something up. He'll call everyone if he knows what happened and I don't want to have to deal with them all right now."

"Just be strong," Kim whispered and kissed me on the cheek "I love you, Tommy."

"I love you too, sweetheart. Everything's going to be okay, though," I said with a smile "It's just my leg. It could have been a lot worse."

"Don't talk like that. I don't want to think about what I would have done if I had lost you," she replied as more tears filled her eyes "Just go and get back here as soon as you can. I'm going to need you more than ever tonight."

"I'll be back in a couple of hours, right?" I asked the medic and he nodded slowly as I looked back at Kim "See. Just do me a favor, please."

"What? Name it, Tommy," Kim replied softly "I'll do anything I can to help you."

"Talk to Nathan and explain what happened. I don't know if I'll be able to," I requested and she nodded her head in understanding "Thank you. I have to go now Kim. I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied, giving me a quick kiss goodbye as the medic shut the door, leaving me alone in the back of the ambulance.

As the engine started and the sirens kicked on, I buried my face in my hands and started crying. Everything had happened so fast and I had held back my emotions for Kim and Nathan but now that I was away from them I didn't have to anymore. The tears flowed freely as images of the last thirty minutes kept playing back in my head.

I kept seeing Alex turn the gun on himself and firing it without hesitation as his body shook and then slumped to the ground in a heap. Being a Ranger, I had seen more than my fair share of damage but no battle with Zedd or advice from Zordon could have prepared me for everything that had happened.

The weird thing was that what Alex had just done didn't make a lick of sense to me at all. He had gone from shooting me to pointing the gun at Kim and yelling at her to using it on himself in less than a minute. Something must have been seriously wrong with him to make him switch gears that fast without any hesitation at all.

The ambulance doors opened up about ten minutes later and the two medics were standing there along with a nurse who was holding the handles of a wheelchair. I shook my head back and forth at the wheelchair but the medics weren't going to back down this time like they had done earlier with the stretcher. They tried to help me get out of the ambulance but I refused their help. If they were going to make me use a wheelchair I was at least going to get in the damn thing under my own power.

As they wheeled me into the hospital, my hypothesis about Alex and his mental condition popped back into my mind. There had to have been something going on in his head that wasn't right and I had the distinct feeling that neither Kim nor I had seen the last of Alex. He may have been gone physically but the images were going to live on a lot longer and I just knew deep down that there was more to what had happened than I really understood.

One thing was for sure though and I could have easily switched places with Alex but something had intervened. Maybe Zordon was right and it wasn't Alex's mental state. Maybe the power really would always protect us...

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	22. The Aftermath

After spending a few hours in the hospital and getting all patched up, Jason met me and offered to take me out for a drink but I had to decline. I had made a promise to Kim that I would be back home as soon as possible and, after everything that had happened just a few hours earlier, I was going to keep that promise no matter how good a stiff drink or twelve sounded at the time. Jason was overly concerned when he found out I had been shot but calmed down a bit when the nurse told him it was a non-life threatening shot to my leg and that I would be perfectly fine.

The whole way home he badgered me with a ton of questions about what had happened, making me retell the story I never wanted to even think about again in as much detail as possible. Getting shot wasn't what bothered me. In fact, it actually was the last thing on my mind. What bothered me more than anything was the fact that he had actually pointed the gun at Kim and said "time to say goodbye" before turning it on himself. I was so sure he was going to shoot Kim and I kept seeing the images play back in my head but all I wanted to think about was getting home to my future wife and son.

When we pulled up to the house around seven there was a police car outside and I figured that there probably was an officer inside talking to Kim about what had happened. Jason wanted to come inside and make sure everything was okay but I insisted that Kim and I could handle it on our own. I thanked him for the ride and got out of the car before limping up the driveway, each step an excruciatingly painful one.

"Thank God he had bad aim," I muttered quietly as I stuck my key in the lock and opened the front door.

As I entered the living room I found Kim sitting on the couch with tears running down her face and a police officer sitting on the loveseat with a pad of paper and pen in his hands. I didn't know how long he had been at the house but I had only been gone maybe three hours total so it couldn't have been that long. He smiled politely when I limped in to the room and we shook hands and introduced ourselves to each other before I sat next to Kim. As soon as I had put my arm around her she buried her face into my chest, staining my shirt with her tears.

The officer, sensing that this probably wasn't the best time to try and talk to her, asked if there was a restroom he could use and I directed him to the one upstairs. He nodded politely and disappeared up the stairs while I held on to Kim and tried to calm her down at least a little bit but she was practically inconsolable. Normally, a few reassuring words and a tight hug were enough to get Kim to settle down but this definitely hadn't been a normal day. Between the hearing, me getting shot and Alex killing himself right in front of us, we both had had a lot more than we could really handle.

"Why did he do it, Tommy? Why did he have to kill himself?" Kim asked in sobs "As much as I don't like him I never would wish that on anyone. He didn't have to die."

"I know, Kim, but I can't explain why he did it. All that I know is that he did it and there's nothing either of us can do to change that," I said soothingly as Kim nodded slightly "There was no way either of us could have known that he was going to do what he did to himself. If I could have stopped him I would have and I know this may sound terrible but I'm glad he shot himself and not you or me. Just the thought of him pointing that gun at you absolutely scares the crap out of me."

"Me too. I just can't believe he did that to himself," she muttered and cuddled up next to me "The saddest thing is that he really was a sweet guy for such a long time. I don't know what made him change but you heard him. It's all my fault."

"You know that's not true, Kim. Just because you didn't want him to see Nathan after five years of ignoring him does not make this your fault," I replied softly, keeping Kim as close to me as possible "He made the choice to do shoot himself not you. Beating yourself up about it isn't going to bring him back or make things better. It's only going to make things harder on you. "

"I know. I just wish there was something I could have done to stop him," she murmured "Maybe if I had just let him see Nathan…"

Her voice trailed off as I thought about Nathan actually having to live with him in Florida. Alex's actions had showed, at least to me, that he was unstable and unfit to try and raise a child. While Kim clearly wasn't thinking logically, I knew that sending Nathan to Florida would have been terrible for him even if it was only just a couple of times a year. No matter what was going on in Alex's head or what had happened earlier I just didn't think he deserved a second chance with Nathan. He had his shot when Kim told him she was pregnant and he let it go. In my opinion, there was simply no excuse for that.

"What don't I know?" Kim asked in a mumble.

"Huh?" I asked in reply "What do you mean?"

"Alex. He said there was so much that I didn't know about," she answered "What do you think he meant when he said that/"

"I have no idea sweetheart and, to be honest, I don't really care either," I replied with brutal honesty "All I care about is that he's gone now and that we can still live our lives in relative peace. I know this has been tough on you, it's been tough on me too but we have to be strong for each other. Things like this happen everyday but it's different when it hits so close to home. We'll work on this together, Kim. If we need to get professional help then we will."

Kim opened her mouth for a reply but the sound of footsteps on the stairs cut her off. The officer came back down the stairs and in to view as he re-entered the living room with us. He sat back down on the loveseat and smiled at me before he asked us if we were ready to continue. I looked at Kim and she gave a small head nod so I told him that we were.

He assured us that neither of us were in any sort of trouble and that this was all just simple and routine police procedure. Even though I knew neither of us were at fault in anyway for what happened it was still good to know that we weren't considered suspects in a murder.

For the next half an hour or so he asked us both questions about our relationship with Alex, Nathan and what had happened with Alex before and after the hearing. Kim broke down at least two or three times in those thirty minutes and the whole thing would have been done a lot quicker if we hadn't had to stop for Kim to calm down and regain her composure. Not that I minded Kim crying, I just really didn't want to deal with this guy longer than absolutely necessary.

In between the officer's questions Kim and I had held our own conversation telepathically. I found out that Kim had called Trini after I left in the ambulance and asked her to pick Nathan up. Kim was taking this very hard and her not being able to be around Nathan had proved to me just how much everything really had effected her.

Occasionally, the officer would have to repeat a question or clear his throat loudly to bring us back to the discussion we were having but other than that and Kim's multiple mini-breakdowns, everything went as normal as could be expected. After he was finally done with us, I walked him to the door and shook his hand politely before he told me he would be in touch with us if he needed to ask any more questions. I nodded and shut the door behind him, locked it and made my way back to Kim.

"Thank God that's over with," I muttered as I looked at Kim in surprise.

In the three minutes that it had taken to walk the police officer to the door, say a few words and return to the living room, Kim had already dug out a bottle of vodka and was drinking the clear liquid straight from the container. I tried to pull the bottle away but she had a Vulcan Death Grip on it and refused to let go of it. She was shaking terribly and, if nothing else, I knew the alcohol would at least calm her nerves down a little bit so I gave in. After everything that had happened I knew better than to try and argue with her so I just sat down in silence with my arm around her and her head against my shoulder.

The phone rang a few minutes later but neither of us really wanted to talk to anyone so we let it ring until the machine picked it up. It was Adam and Aisha calling to "check on us" and I rolled my eyes because I knew either Jason or Trini had called them. Now it was only a matter of time until everyone else started to call us too. Neither of us wanted to deal with that so I got up, unplugged the house phone and turned my cell off while Kim did the same with her phone.

We sat there in silence for close to twenty minutes mostly because neither of us really knew what to say at the time. Your topics of conversation, I quickly learned, are severely diminished when something as tragic as the day's events happen. I wanted so desperately to be able to just say something and make all of Kim's pain instantly go away but there wasn't a damn thing I could do to help her except sit there and be quiet which I hated having to do. Seeing Kim that hurt and in that much pain was unbelievably tough to deal with. She was always so fun and energetic and happy and full of life but it was like she had had the life completely sucked out of her body.

Sitting there unable to do anything just made me feel so damn helpless. I would have done anything in the world to make her feel better and it was tearing me up inside that I couldn't help at all. I could have taken her on a trip around the world in a private jet and it wouldn't have done a lick of good to make her feel better.

"I'm sorry, Tommy," Kim mumbled out of nowhere.

"You didn't do anything, sweetie," I replied "What are you sorry for?"

"For being like this. I know you want to help. We're connected, remember," she answered and I nodded my head softly "It's just going to take time, I think. I'm just so afraid…"

"What are you afraid of?" I asked compassionately.

"You and me," she replied, causing my mouth to fall wide open in a mixture of shock and surprise "Every guy I've ever cared about has ended up getting hurt. I know I'm just going to end up hurting you and driving you away too."

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe that she actually thought I was going to turn my back on her. I mean, I loved her, had asked her to marry me and she was pregnant with _our_ child. Instinctively, I reached out and took her hands in my own and rubbed them gently with my thumbs.

"Kim, I love you more than anything on this planet. You are without a doubt the most amazing, sweet, carig and wonderful person I've ever had in my life and there is no way I would ever leave you," I said finally "Don't think for one second that I'd ever walk away from you. You mean way too much to me and I'm actually hurt that you could even think that I would do that to you."

"See what I mean. I just hurt you," Kim snapped and got off the couch suddenly "I'm getting out of here. I hate this place. I don't ever want to see it again."

Out of nowhere Kim cocked her arm back and threw the half full bottle of vodka towards the wall and it exploded on impact, sending pieces of glass flying in every possible direction. Without even looking at the damage or saying another word to me she turned on her heels and headed for the door while I sat there and debated on what to do. I wanted to go after her and try to fix things but that also meant that I was running the risk of just making everything worse and I definitely didn't want that either.

Kim was already out the door when I finally made up my mind and got off the couch to go after her. When I got to her she was halfway into her truck and I had to grab her by the waist and pulled her back to the ground to stop her from leaving. She looked at me angrily and then all of a sudden started slapping and punching me in the arms.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Kim yelled as she continued to hit me "Get away from me!"

"Dammit, Kim. Don't walk away from me!" I said loudly as she tried to get into her truck again.

I grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around and it just started all over again. Kim reached back and started her fury fueled attack on my arms once more. At least the pain in my arms was making me forget about the pain from the bullet wound in my leg.

"Oww…I'm not even doing any….oww….would you stop fucking….oww…hitting me please?" I requested but she kept swinging "All I'm trying to…oww…do is…oww…keep my promise."

She didn't even think about stopping and just kept hitting me over and over until I finally couldn't take being hit any longer. I reached up and grabbed her wrists, holding on tightly when she tried to hit me again. She got a scared expression on her face when I yanked her towards me which was obviously a reaction from what Alex had done to her earlier. I'm pretty sure that she thought I was going to hit her but I just pulled her in close and kissed her firmly on the lips.

She tried to pull back but I kept a firm grip on her wrists and refused to let her get away from me. After a few seconds of me kissing her and not letting go when she tried to get away, she gave in and started to kiss me back. Realizing the danger had passed, I let go of her wrists and she put her arms around my waist as we continued to kiss passionately in the driveway. Eventually, after a few minutes of that, we broke apart and I saw that Kim had an embarrassed look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Tommy," she mumbled quietly "I shouldn't have done that to you. I'm so sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"If I was mad at you do you think I would have done this?" I asked in reply and pulled her back in for another kiss that lasted even longer than the last one. When we finally broke apart a few minutes later, we were both struggling desperately for some air.

"Does that mean you forgive me?" Kim asked sarcastically with a sly grin on her face "What were you trying to say when I was hitting you? Something about a promise?"

"You asked me what I was doing and I was trying to tell you that I was just keeping my promise," I answered.

"What promise?" Kim asked in reply.

"The one where I said I was never going to let you get away from me again and that if you tried to leave I was going to follow you," I answered with a smile as Kim returned the gesture and wrapped her arms around my waist again "I love you so much, Kim. I couldn't imagine living without you and I would never walk away from you or turn my back on you. Or Nathan for that matter. I am going to be right by your side every step of the way for the rest our lives. I love you, Beautiful and I always will."

"I know. I'm so sorry for doubting you. I feel terrible about it. With everything that has happened today I just lost it," Kim replied and then quickly added "Not that I'm trying to make excuses for what I did because I'm not. I love you too, Tommy. You mean everything to me and I'm never going to doubt us again. I should have learned my lesson the first time."

"It's okay, Kim, really. I understand that you were just upset about what happened today," I said reassuringly "If I really thought that you doubted me or didn't love me I wouldn't have just spent the last ten minutes kissing you in the front yard for all the neighbors to see. Which reminds me, I think Old Man Jones has been peeking at us through his window from across the street."

"Kinda kinky if you ask me," Kim said playfully and gave me a quick kiss "Remember freshman year when all six of us all went Trick or Treating together? We all said we were getting too old for it and promised that it was going to be the last time. Old Man Jones made sure of it, huh?"

"Yeah, he sure did. I remember I went as a karate sensei and you went as a belly dancer," I replied with a smile "All six of us went up there and he looked right at you and said 'What are you some kinda hooker or something?' Jason and I almost died from laughing so hard and you looked like you wanted to cry right there in front of him."

"I did want to cry. Old Man Jones is a jerk. He always has been," she retorted "Do you remember what happened after we went to his house?"

"Yeah, he snapped at you and you took off running down the street dropping candy everywhere while Zack followed behind you and put it in his bag," I answered as Kim stared back at me with an unimpressed look on her face "Then I went after you and we went to the park together and I told you that no hooker would ever be as pretty as you. It was the worst compliment ever. I almost tried to kiss you that night but I didn't think you would let me."

"I wanted you to kiss me but you never could take a hint," Kim shot back with a smile as she slapped me playfully on the chest then cringed at her action "Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I know that you're upset and still a little bit jumpy," I replied as I slipped my arm around her waist and started leading her back towards the house "Did you make that appointment with your doctor that we talked about?"

"Yeah but I missed it due to my little blackout," she answered "But I don't need it now anyway. Billy's already confirmed that I'm pregnant and that the baby's okay and I trust Billy. Why? Do you think I should see a doctor?"

"I don't know. I don't think it can hurt though," I said to her as we stepped into the house "It's up to you though, Kim. If you want to go with Billy then I'm fine with that. It's just…"

"You think it would be better if I saw a specialist?" Kim interjected, completing my sentence for me and I nodded my head in agreement "I'll tell you what. You go start that candle lit champagne bubble bath you owe me and I'll call my doctor. How's that sound?"

"Good except for the simple fact that we don't have any champagne," I answered as Kim pulled my keys off the rack and dangled them in front of my face before I snatched them out of the air "Playing dirty I see. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Don't…" Kim tried as I kissed her quickly "Mmm…take" she continued as I kissed her again "Too long" she finished before I kissed her one last time "Screw the champagne. Let's go."

She took my hand and I dropped my keys as e started running down the hallway towards our bedroom. In one quick motion she flung the door open, pulled me into the room and tossed me on to the bed. Without thinking twice I pulled my tee shirt over my head while Kim did the same with her tank top and then jumped on top of me as we started to kiss again.

A few seconds later Kim pulled back and smiled at me seductively as she reached down and quickly pulled down my gym shorts. I reciprocated the gesture by pulling Kim in and tracing my hands down her back until they reached the waistband of her sweats and I started to slowly pull them down. The difference was that I stopped as soon as the sweats were passed her butt and I grabbed a handful as Kim moaned against my mouth while we continued to kiss.

"Wait," I said and then pushed Kim off of me as she stared at me in shock "We can't do this. You're pregnant for God's sake."

"What's that got to do with anything?" she asked "We can still have sex if I'm pregnant."

"Really?" I asked with a sheepish looking grin as Kim smiled back and nodded "I feel stupid. Did I just totally kill the mood?"

"Not at all," Kim answered as she pushed me back down and crawled on top of me again "I think it's really sweet that you didn't want to do anything that could hurt me or the baby."

Kim kissed me hard a few times and then I grabbed her by the waist and flipped her onto her back so I was on top. She looked at me with pleading eyes and I knew that meant that she wasn't in the mood for any foreplay. I nodded my head and positioned myself between her legs before entering slowly as she let out a loud whimper.

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Kim fell asleep in my arms when our love making session ended forty-five minutes later. Being careful not to wake or disturb her I rolled her over and slowly crawled out of bed. My pants were on one side of the room, my boxers were laying on a chair, my socks had apparently been separated from each other and my shirt was nowhere to be seen.

I put on whatever I could find and then went into the walk-in closet for the stuff I didn't have. For as big as the closet was I only got a tiny corner of it thanks to Kim's massive wardrobe. After a few minutes of searching I found some clothes and quietly exited the bedroom.

My keys were on the floor in the same place I left them before Kim drug me into the bedroom, not that I'm complaining or anything. I picked them up off the carpet and hoped Kim didn't wake up before I got back from my little trip.

After leaving the house my first stop was Safeway, the only place open at ten p.m. that would have real flowers. I picked out a dozen pink roses, paid for those and headed to BevMo for the other things I needed.

They had the perfect set of wine glasses there and I just had to buy them for Kim. The glasses were hand blown with pink polka dots all over them and I knew she would love them. I took those up to the counter with me and asked the clerk for a bottle of _Dom Pérignon. _

"You all right sir?" he asked and looked at me funny when I asked for the bottle and it was then that I realized why.

My hair had been matted down and was all over the place, my eyes were glazed over because I was a little tired from earlier and, when I had gone into the closet, the lights were off and I didn't realize I had put my shirt on inside out and backwards. The guy probably thought I was some random wino coming in off the streets to try and rob the place or run off with the bottle. I reached into my wallet, pulled out a wad of hundred dollar bills and flashed them at the guy to show him that I had every intention of paying for the stuff and he gave me an appreciative smile before ringing up my purchase.

I nodded politely as he handed me the bag containing my purchase and my change. I felt bad for scaring the kid so I intentionally left a ten dollar bill on the counter without saying anything and then walked out.

All the lights were still off when I got home so I figured that Kim hadn't woken up while I was gone. Kim had a whole drawer full of candles in the kitchen and I picked out two rose scented ones and two strawberry candles in honor of Kim's semi-recent exchange with Rocky. I set them gently in the bag next to the wine glasses and champagne, grabbed the small corkscrew off the counter and then quietly crept back into the bedroom to find Kim curled up in the same position I left her in.

I kissed her gently on the forehead and then went into the bathroom, setting the glasses and bottle of champagne on the counter and placing the candles around the tub. I was pretty sure that there was a book of matches in one of the drawers and I dug through all the drawers for a few minutes until I finally found what I was looking for.

As soon as all four candles were lit I started running water into the tub and waited for it to get hot before closing the drain and reaching for the bottle of bubble bath soap that Kim kept in the shower. After pouring some of the soap into the tub I got up and carefully opened the champagne bottle and filled both glasses with the bubbly liquid. When the tub was finally full I turned off the water and left the bathroom for the closet once more.

Kim's bathrobe was hanging on the back of the door and as I grabbed it and walked towards the bed, I prayed she wouldn't be angry with me for waking her up. I pushed her gently on the shoulder but she didn't move at all so I pushed a little harder and got her to let out a loud groan.

"I don't want to go to school today, mom," she muttered before rolling over "Fine. Just ten more minutes please."

"Nope. It's time to wake up, Beautiful," I said loud enough to get her to finally open her eyes and stare at the clock.

"Tommy, it's eleven o'clock," she whispered with a hint of annoyance in her voice "Get back in bed and go to sleep."

"Nope. I said it's time to wake up," I reiterated, this time yanking the sheets away to reveal her laying there naked "Here's your robe. Come into the bathroom when your ready."

I set the robe on the side of the bed, left Kim alone and went back into the bathroom. After getting undressed and putting my clothes in the hamper I grabbed the glasses and climbed into the tub. I felt a little effeminate sitting in a bubble bath surrounded by scented candles but I knew Kim would love it and that was all that mattered.

It took a few minutes but eventually the bathroom door opened and I turned to see Kim standing there with a shocked look on her face. She smiled brightly as tears filled her eyes and I could tell she was clearly flustered by what I had done.

"Come on in, Beautiful. The water's nice and warm," I encouraged and then held up her glass so she could see it "_Dom Pérignon. _Your favorite."

"You are so amazing," she replied as she disrobed and slowly climbed into the bathtub, sitting in front of me and resting her head on my shoulder "I love you so much. You are such an incredible man. I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

"I love you too, Kim," I cooed into her ear as I reached over and set my glass on the floor then put my hands on her shoulders "Just relax and let me take care of you, sweetie."

I kissed her neck a few times then moved down to her shoulders and upper back as I started to give her a massage. She let out a half-moan half-whimper with each and every movement my hands made on her shoulders. Knowing that I was pleasing Kim made me feel like I could actually help her get over what had happened with Alex. She was no longer crying or worried or scared or nervous and that was a great sign for me.

We stayed like that until the water started to get cold and Kim started to get out but I pulled her back into the water. I reached around her and turned the hot water back on as the water slowly started to warm up again. She leaned back against me and we kissed a few times before I went back to giving her the massage.

Eventually though, the water started making us wrinkle pretty badly and we both agreed that it was time to get out. As Kim climbed out of the tub I stared at her backside and smiled brightly.

"I hate to see you go," I muttered quietly "But I sure do love to watch you leave."

"Get out of that tub and you can do more than watch," she enticed and I immediately jumped up from the bath and hopped out of the tub "Good boy. Does Scooby want a Scooby Snack?"

"Res Raggy," I answered in my best, but still terrible, Scooby-Doo impersonation.

Kim chuckled and rolled her eyes as she grabbed a towel off the rack and started to dry me off. I smiled down at her and pulled her into a tight embrace, our wet bodies rubbing up against each other sensually.

At that moment being wet didn't matter to me in the least. I had to have Kim again and I picked her up in my arms before carrying her to the bed for another session of love making.

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	23. We Messed Up

As soon as I woke up the next morning I instantly got scared and nervous, immediately regretting the champagne bubble bath that I had made for Kim the night before. In a momentary lapse of judgment I had completely forgotten that Kim was pregnant and therefore shouldn't have been drinking champagne. Not only that but she took a few good pulls from the vodka bottle as well.

What had I done? I had heard a glass of wine on occasion wasn't bad for you or the baby but the vodka…oh man, the vodka. How could I have let her drink that much alcohol? I felt like such a complete idiot.

Kim was still asleep when I woke up and I got out of bed, throwing on my clothes from last night and made my way to the kitchen to start some coffee. When that was done I collapsed on the couch and buried my hands in my face. I felt like a horrible person for letting that happen and tears were slowly filling my eyes. What if something happened? What if our child was born with a disease or defect because I didn't fight harder to take that bottle from her hand?

"What have I done?" I mumbled to myself as I heard the bedroom door open and close.

Kim came into the living room a few seconds later and saw me crying on the couch. After what I had done I couldn't even manage to look her in the eye. Without saying anything she came over to the couch, sat next to me and grabbed my hands gently. Immediately, unable to deal with what I had done, I pulled away and got up from the couch.

I walked over to the kitchen, angrily plugged the phone back into the jack and grabbed the receiver off of the dock. Kim had a look of confusion on her face when I handed her the phone without any sort of explanation.

"Call your doctor," I said finally "Get the first available opening you can."

"Fine," Kim replied as she took the phone from me "Where is all this coming from, Tommy?"

"Just do it, Kim," I muttered through tears "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I can't believe I was so damn stupid."

"Tommy what are you talking about?" she asked, a grin forming on her face that made me feel sick "You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you were nothing short of amazing if I do say so myself."

"I've got to be the worst father on the planet and you haven't even had the kid yet," I grumbled and then walked away, hoping Kim didn't follow me.

I slammed the bedroom door shut and fell face first onto the bed, holding my pillow tightly and crying against it. For a couple minutes I stayed like that, crying into my pillow and praying that everything was okay with the baby. I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to the baby because I had failed to be responsible.

When the bedroom door opened a few minutes later Kim came in and sat next to me on the bed without saying a word. My head was face down still and I just couldn't bring myself to look at her after what I had done. She reached out and softly stroked the back of my head but I jerked away.

"Tommy what is going on?" Kim asked pleadingly "You can't just shut me out like this. You need to talk to me and tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help."

I looked at Kim through blood shot and tear filled eyes and shook my head back and forth. I had messed up and there was nothing she could do to fix it. How could I have been so damn stupid? This baby was one of the greatest things that had ever happened to me and I had put our child at risk. At that moment I felt like my whole world was collapsing on top of me.

"It's all my fault," I managed finally, Kim staring back at me with no idea what I was talking about "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry, Kim. I'm such a terrible person. I shouldn't have given you the champagne and I should have tried harder to take that vodka bottle away from you last night."

Kim's mouth formed a wide "O" as she realized what I was talking about. She instantly got a scared and nervous expression on her face as the events from the night before began to hit her. Now tears were filling her eyes and she threw her arms around me in a tight hug.

"Oh my God. What have I done?" she asked in a mumble "Tommy this is not your fault, it's mine. I don't care what you say."

"How can you say that?!" I yelled, causing Kim to wince "I let you sit there and drink the damn vodka. Not only that but I practically put the alcohol in your body last night with the bubble bath. God dammit! I'm screwing up before we've even gotten started. What was I thinking?"

"Stop saying that. This is not your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's mine," Kim admitted, biting back the oncoming tears "I made the choice to drink, not you. I'm the one who screwed up by not thinking about what I was doing."

"But I could have done something to stop you," I tried as Kim shook her head slowly and took my hands.

"Remember what you said to me yesterday night?" she asked softly, stroking my hands gently "There was nothing we could do to stop Alex from what he did. He made a choice, remember? That's what I did, Tommy. I made a choice and it was a bad one."

"Did you call your doctor?" I asked, changing the subject so we weren't playing the Blame Game.

This was so terrible. We had just spent the last day in front of a judge trying to prove that we were responsible loving parents so we could keep one child and no less than six hours later we had already put our unborn baby in harm's way.

Kim nodded her head, signifying that she had called her doctor and gotten an appointment to see her. We were both emotional train wrecks now but I still felt like it was all my fault. I outweighed Kim by eighty pounds and could have taken the bottle from her if I had really tried. It's a terrible excuse but I think we were both overly stressed by everything that had happened which led to our inability to think rationally about what we were doing.

Just the thought of something happening to our baby made me feel sick to my stomach. I was worse than Alex. He had never had any sort of relationship with Nathan but he had never put him in harm's way or done anything that could physically hurt him, either. By not thinking about what I was doing I had put our baby at extreme risk. Regardless of what Kim said I simply couldn't shake the immense feelings of pain and guilt that washed over me as I sat on the bed and started crying again.

What would Zordon think? What would Jason think? What would everyone else think? I felt like I had let everyone important in my life down. Being a science teacher I had been the one to tell teenagers about the risks of drinking or smoking while pregnant. I was nothing more than a blatant hypocrite in my eyes. Conner, Kira, Ethan, Trent…I had failed them all.

Some "experts" say that an occasional drink while pregnant is okay but others say it's like playing Russian Roulette with the health of your child. Every single thing Kim put into her body while pregnant went directly through her blood stream and in to the placenta. Every piece of food she ate and every liquid she drank, the baby consumed too.

That meant our baby had already consumed at least three shots of vodka and a glass of champagne. Without saying anything to Kim I got off the bed and headed for the den but not before making a pit stop in the kitchen. I spent a few minutes in there and when I was done with what I needed to do I went in to the den, got on the internet and immediately started researching further into the effects of alcohol in a pregnancy.

The things that I found online were absolutely shocking. I knew about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and a little about Fetal Alcohol Effects but I had no idea whatsoever in regards to all the potential abnormalities that could occur in an alcohol effected pregnancy. The possibilities ranged from minor things like nearsightedness and hyperactivity in childhood to more serious problems like organ deformities, webbed skin in between the eyes and nose and, the most extreme possibility, severe mental retardation.

The thought of having a child that was mentally retarded scared the living daylights right out of me. I had a cousin with Down Syndrome and had seen first hand just how hard it was on my aunt and uncle to raise her. It didn't mean that they loved her any less or didn't care about her and I would love my child regardless of how they were born but every parent wants to have a normal healthy child.

Just reading the list of potential problems made me even more nervous. Kim could drink every day and we could still have a perfectly healthy child or the few drinks from the night before could already be causing a whole slew of problems for the baby. I just didn't think that we could ever be that stupid and irresponsible, especially with an unborn child. Our unborn child.

I had my back to the door and must not have closed it all the way because a few seconds later I felt a pair of hands resting on my shoulders. Tilting my head back a little, I saw Kim standing over the top of me as she read the webpage I had been looking at.

"All that can happen from just a few drinks?" Kim asked hesitantly and I nodded slowly "I…I had no idea it could be that serious. If this baby is healthy we're getting rid of all the alcohol in the house. There's no way I'm going to risk those things again."

"I already did that," I replied, putting a hand on top of hers and rubbing it softly.

I had gone into the kitchen on my way to the den and emptied every bottle of alcohol into the sink except for a few of the really expensive ones which I made sure to put high up and out of Kim's reach. Every can and bottle of beer had gone into the trash can as well and Kim looked down at me with a thankful smile, kissing me on top of the head and wrapping her arms around me.

There was no point in trying to pull away anymore. It would only drive a wedge between us and, at that point, we just needed each other too much to do that. I grabbed her wrists gently and lifted them over my head as I stood up and pulled Kim into a tight hug.

We stayed like that for a few silent minutes just holding each other as we struggled with our irresponsibility and lack of thinking. As I held Kim closely we silently promised myself each other that we were never going to be that stupid again. I still felt terribly guilty about not trying to stop Kim but at least I wasn't wallowing in self-pity anymore.

"When's your appointment?" I asked quietly, still holding on to Kim tightly.

"Dr. Cook had an opening at three today so I took it," she replied as I nodded my head "I also called Trini and asked her if she could watch Nathan until this evening but I didn't tell her why. She asked me a bunch of questions about everything and I just made up a bunch of excuses. I don't think I could actually tell her the truth about what I did."

"Do you want me to go with you to the doctor?" I asked in reply, gently rubbing Kim's lower back.

"I don't want you to go, I need you to go," she answered with a smile "We need to do this together, as a team. Unless of course you don't want to go."

"If me being there will make it easier then you don't even have to ask," I replied as the growling of my stomach interrupted us and Kim chuckled "Sorry. I guess it's feeding time again."

"That's supposed to be my line considering I'm the pregnant one," Kim shot back with a playful grin and then took my hand "Come on, tiger. I'll make us some breakfast."

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Sparkling white walls. Countless stacks of _Highlights, People_ and _TIME Magazine_, none of them current issues of course. The stench of something that had been doused in ammonia over and over until it would never smell like anything else again for the rest of eternity. Those wooden toys with the twisty pipes and the beads that you move from one side to the other for no reason other than pure boredom.

I hated doctor's offices and hospitals too for that matter. Every single one of them was the same. It didn't matter if you were at an optometrist or a pediatrician. Not only that but if you had an appointment at two there was no way you were getting in before two-thirty.

Kim and I sat together in the waiting room hand in hand while we waited patiently, and nervously, for her name to be called. We had spent the rest of the morning trying not to think about what could happen and we managed to keep any discussion of it out of our conversations for the most part. It only came up once around noon and all it did was make Kim cry again.

We had gotten to the doctor's office ten minutes before Kim's appointment and, twenty minutes later, she still hadn't been called. As time slowly wore on my nerves kicked into overdrive big time. Every noise made me jumpy and all I really wanted was to get this over with.

I had been so caught up in everything that morning that I failed to realize I no longer had a bullet hole or any pain in my leg. It must have been the Eltarian in me because I wasn't limping or grimacing in pain every time I took a step any more. Every time something happened that could have ended badly it ended up turning out okay. I was starting to believe more and more that Zordon had been right about the Power always protecting us.

"Ms. Hart, Dr. Cook will see you now," the nurse said finally as Kim nodded her head and we stood up.

"Stay here," Kim said to me, a puzzled expression coming across my face "I don't want you to see me hooked up to a bunch of equipment. It won't take that long. I'll be back soon, I promise."

I nodded my head in understanding and gave Kim a quick kiss before she turned around to follow the nurse down the hallway. My eyes stayed trained on her until she was out of sight. With nothing else to do, I picked up a two year-old issue of _Highlights_ and tried to do the game where you find objects in a picture. I found almost everything but couldn't find the damn spatula to save my life.

That stupid game had gotten the best of me. I found nineteen out of twenty things before I threw the magazine down in disgust and picked up another one. Since I couldn't beat the first one I was hell bent on beating a different one.

"Not another fucking spatula," I moaned quietly to myself after finding another nineteen objects "Why must you torment me like this? All I want is to find the damn spatula."

I threw the second magazine down like I had done with the first one and got a few odd stares from some of the people in the waiting room. I was about to pick up a third copy of the magazine when Kim came back in to the waiting room. She had tears running down her face and at that moment I instantly feared the worst. As soon as I saw her come back in to the waiting room I got up and ran over to her.

"What'd she say?" I asked eagerly "Is the baby okay?"

"She…she…she said…" Kim mumbled quietly, unable to get the words out as my patience started to quickly wear thin in anticipation of the news "She said the baby's fine. Tommy, our baby is going to be okay."

"Oh my God, that's fantastic," I whispered back, pulling Kim into a tight hug "This is so great I can't even believe it. Why are you crying? I thought you'd be happy about this."

"I am happy but that doesn't make this whole situation any easier to deal with," she replied and I gave her an understanding smile "We put our baby at serious risk. If anything had happened it would have been our fault, Tommy. How are we supposed to go on and live our lives with this hanging over our heads?"

We were standing in the middle of the waiting room with random people all around us having a discussion that was meant to be had in private. I wanted to get her home so I ended the conversation right there with this.

"Everything's going to be okay, Kim. I know we messed up but this is a life lesson," I said reassuringly, rubbing the small of her back gently "From this moment on we're going to be as responsible as humanly possible. Now let's go. I hate these places."

Kim nodded her head and I took her hand in mine, making sure to shoot an evil glare at the stack of _Highlights_ sitting on the table as we left the doctor's office. That stupid magazine was one of the main reasons I hated doctor's offices. Every time I had to go to the dentist or doctor when I was a kid I tried desperately to find the damn spatula and was never able to locate it. It got so bad that one time when I was twelve I took the whole collection of _Highlights_ and ripped them up right in front of my dentist.

"You couldn't find the spatula, huh?" Kim asked as we approached my Jeep and I nodded "You've been looking for the spatula since you were 16 and you still haven't found it. You probably never will."

Even if it was embarrassingly true I was unbelievably glad for the change in our conversation. I didn't mind being the butt of the joke because it meant that Kim's mind was on something other than the baby.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, babe," I said sarcastically as Kim pushed me playfully "One of these days I'm going to find it and when I do I'm gonna shove it right in your face."

"Well it's a good thing you have seven thousand years to spend looking for it. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes," she retorted with a grin while I opened the Jeep door for her "Thanks, Handsome."

"Anytime, Beautiful," I replied, smacking her on the butt and shutting the door before she could say anything.

As soon as I got in to the Jeep Kim reached over and pinched my arm for smacking her butt. It was worth it though. I set my hand down on the seat between us, palm up, Kim's fingers interlocked with my own while we drove home.

"You know, our luck is bound to run out one of these days," Kim observed after a few minutes of silent driving "First getting each other back, then me almost dying, almost losing Nathan, then both of us almost dying and now this. It can't go on like this forever."

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows?" I asked in reply, Kim shrugging her shoulders "I'm inclined to believe that but Zordon keeps popping in to my head every time something bad potentially happens. He said the Power would always protect us. He's never steered us wrong before. I'm tempted to go with him until something proves him wrong."

"Oh no you're not. Being careless was what got us here in the first place," Kim snapped angrily "You do whatever you want to yourself but if you do anything that puts the baby at risk again, I'll kill you myself."

"Me?! If I recall correctly I was the one who tried to take the bottle from you last night," I shot back "You were the one sucking on that bottle like a feeding baby. You wanna talk about putting the baby at risk? You were on the front lines for that one, babe."

Kim stared at me wide eyed with her mouth agape in shock that I had actually gone that far and threw that comment at her. As soon as the tears filled her eyes and she turned her head away from me I felt instantly terrible. Her hand was resting on the seat and I put mine on top of hers, surprised that she didn't try to pull back.

"You're right. You're absolutely right," she mumbled a few seconds later "This is all my fault. I put the baby at risk, not you. I'm a terrible mother."

I turned my head so Kim couldn't see my face and then rolled my eyes with a complete lack of patience for what she was doing. We had agreed to stop playing the Blame Game with each other and I wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't started on me. Kim had gotten great news and all I wanted to do was pick up Nathan and spend time with them in peace but we were in the middle of an argument just fifteen minutes after finding out our baby was going to be okay.

This was simply not a conversation that I wanted to be having. Kim depressed and blaming herself again wasn't what either of us needed. We needed to be supportive of each other not fighting over who's fault it was that Kim had a few sips of alcohol.

I just didn't understand why we were sitting there arguing over something that wasn't even an issue any more. It was pointless for us to be doing this and no good could ever come from us continuing in this direction.

"I'm done doing this, Kim. We can't keep playing this stupid game with each other," I said without looking over at her "I thought we agreed to drop this and move on. Everything is fine with the baby and that should be all that matters. I don't want to fight with you anymore. After everything that has happened to us these past few days we should be supporting each other not jumping at each other's throats at every available opportunity."

"I'm sorry. I just…this whole thing scares me so much. I feel like I've let you down so much," Kim admitted with tear filled eyes "I love you so much and having your child means the world to me. It's just the thought that I could have damaged our baby because I was irresponsible scares me terribly."

"Do you want me to call Jason and Trini and see if they can keep Nathan another day?" I asked as Kim thought about it and I decided to pick her brain "You're not a bad mother for leaving Nathan with them either. This is a stressful time for both of us. Jason and Trini understand what's going on and Nathan will too when he's a little older."

"I'll call Trini," Kim relented, reaching into her purse and pulling out her phone.

I sat back in silence, listening as she talked to Trini and asked her to keep Nathan for one last night. It really caught me off guard when Kim looked over and extended the phone towards me, saying that Trini wanted to talk with me.

"Hello," I said hesitantly after putting the phone to my ear.

"Hi, Tommy," Trini said, way too chipper for me "How are you doing? Is your leg okay?"

"I'm good and my leg's fine. It's completely healed actually," I answered "So what's up? We don't usually do the phone thing."

"Jason and I just want to make sure that you and Kim are okay," Trini admitted "Every time I've talked to her recently it seems like something's really bothering her. I mean, I know yesterday must have been a scare with Alex but she doesn't get like this often. I know you can't say anything because she's right there but just tell me, yes or no, is everything okay with you guys?"

"Yes," I answered honestly "And Tri? Thanks for caring."

"You're welcome, Tommy. That's what friends are for, right?" Trini asked with a slight chuckle "Anyway, that's all I wanted to know. Jason and Nathan are in the middle of a video game and I think Nathan's kicking J's ass. I should probably go play moderator."

"Alright, Tri. Talk to you later. Tell Jason we said hi and send Nathan our love. We'll come get him tomorrow morning sometime," I said, hanging up the phone and handing it back to Kim who was looking at me for answers "She just wanted to know if you and I were okay. Her and Jason were concerned about us after yesterday, that's all."

Kim nodded her head and, at that point, we permanently dropped any discussion of the mistakes we had both made the night before. We both fully understood the risks and consequences of our actions from the previous night now and neither one of us were willing to make that same mistake again.

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Once we got home, I sent Kim into the living room to rest while I cooked dinner for us. It was spaghetti and meatballs for us, a recipe I had perfected thanks to my mom's Italian heritage and passion for the kitchen and cooking.

Kim looked at me in complete shock when I called her to the table and set two glasses, filled with an amber colored liquid, down in front of our plates. I let out a chuckle with a wink and then went into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle.

"Sparkling cider, sweetie," I said, showing her the bottle while she let out a sigh of relief "You didn't really think I was that stupid, did you?"

"No but it still scared me," she admitted and then smiled "This looks delicious, Tommy. Where did you learn to cook so well? You couldn't get around a kitchen to save your life when we were kids."

"My mom started teaching me to cook when we broke up. She thought it would help me get my mind off you," I explained as Kim nodded her head "In all honesty though, the only reason I even learned to cook was in the hopes that I'd be able to do it for you one day."

Kim smiled brightly as she picked up a noodle with her hand and put the end of it in her mouth, handing me the other end. I put it in my mouth and leaned across the table in a _Lady and the Tramp_ moment as we kissed passionately over the bowl of noodles and sauce.

"So when are you going to go back to your school?" I asked a few minutes later, Kim shrugging her shoulders in reply.

"I'm not sure, maybe never. I'll be honest with you Tommy, when I got angry and said I wanted to leave here last night, I was being serious," Kim answered, catching me off guard a little bit "Our front lawn was a crime scene last night for God's sake. This house will always be the place where I saw way too many horrible things happen."

"I know, sweetie. I actually feel the same way," I said compassionately, stroking Kim's hands gently "We could always move back to Reefside if you wanted. It's still close enough to where we can visit and my house is plenty big for all of us. The elementary school is nice and they're going to want me to be back at the high school next year so I was going to talk to you about it anyway."

"Reefside, huh?" Kim asked with a small grin "Do they have good shopping there?"

I laughed a little and nodded as I twirled some spaghetti on to my fork and held it out for Kim to take a bite. A little bit of sauce dribbled down her chin and I leaned over, sucking it off her face and then kissing her softly again. Even with spaghetti sauce on her face she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and I felt so lucky to have her.

I knew our little spats were only temporary and that, once things started to settle down, everything would go back to normal again. Between Ivan, the custody hearing, Alex's suicide and this little scare things had been tough on both of us recently but, somehow, we always managed to pull through it in the end.

Some parents consistently make poor decisions without thinking about the effects those decisions will have on their children. Kim's parents made that mistake the second they decided to get married simply because Kim's mom got pregnant with her. Her parents' irresponsibility in getting married forced Kim to live in a downright tumultuous war zone of a house until long after she was in high school.

I hated that Kim and I were teetering on that line of such absolute irresponsibility. We had made one bad decision due to a complete lack of thinking and it could have resulted in some serious problems for our unborn child. Luckily, everything had turned out okay but that didn't change the fact that it could have easily been a ton worse for us.

Whether or not Zordon was right when he said that the Power would always protect us was now completely irrelevant. I wasn't about to risk something happening again because of an irresponsible decision and neither was Kim. We were blessed that nothing had happened with our child and we were both intent on making sure we never had another scare like this one ever again.

"Hope," I said simply, Kim looking back at me with a puzzled expression on her face so I elaborated "If we have a daughter, I want to name her Hope."

"Hope. Hope. Hope," Kim repeated with a smile on her face, pondering the name and trying to get a feel for it "I like it and it's really fitting, too. Are we going to be one of those couples that knows the sex before the baby is born?"

"She's inside you not me, Beautiful. It's totally up to you," I answered "But I'd rather not know to be honest. I'd like my first child to be a surprise if that's alright with you."

"A surprise it is then. Neither of us will know before the baby is born," Kim replied with another bright smile "I love you so much, Tommy. Let's never let anything like this happen again, okay?"

"I love you too, Kim. And I promise that as long as I live we will never have to go through anything like this again," I said reassuringly with a smile of my own, leaning in for another round of kisses "Why don't you go get ready for bed and I'll get these dishes cleaned up."

Kim nodded her head and kissed me one last time before she got up from the table and made her way down the hallway. As she disappeared out of sight, I silently thanked whatever higher power out there that everything had turned out okay with out baby. I don't know if I could have lived with the guilt of having a child with a disease because of something we had done, or failed to do in my case. We were extremely lucky that nothing had happened and were never going to be that stupid or irresponsible ever again.

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_Oh come on now guys. Did you really think I was just going to let Kim drink while pregnant and completely get away with it? Some of you guys actually got really pissed that she was drinking in the last chapter and thought I'd let it go. Oh well. Hope you guys liked the chapter. Be sure to review._

_-WK_


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